


The Shadows Claim

by Deyaniera



Series: Shades and Shadows. [2]
Category: Luke Cage (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Freeform, M/M, Marvel Universe, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-17 16:38:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 29,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16099583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deyaniera/pseuds/Deyaniera
Summary: "Shades" is persona non grata, yet Hernan must find a way to go on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Graphic description of F/M sex

          Elsa had forgotten about the bag with the clothes until one evening she came home to find Hernan looking annoyed and feeling worse.  He’d been increasingly grumpy as he tried to find some kind of steady work.  His felonies were counting against him, and his reputation did not help.  He was getting to the point where he was considering an offer from Fisk, and Elsa was afraid he would take it.  She did not want to think of him in the underworld again, even while she liked Fisk as much as one could like a ruthless crime boss. 

          “Where is the duffel with my stuff?” Hernan demanded as soon as she’d put her purse down. 

          Elsa stifled a sigh, knowing he was not angry at her, just frustrated in general.  “I had to hide it,” she said.  “I had a break in, and I didn’t want them to take your money.”  She intentionally didn’t mention who had broken in, because she didn’t want to hear about that again.  Especially since she was fairly certain that she had a new tail as of today. 

          “You kept—wait.  A break in?”  Hernan’s frown was dark.  “They didn’t take anything?” 

          “No, but I was afraid they were casing my place, so I took action.  This was when I was out of town a lot.”  Elsa turned away, feeling sad.  He hadn’t even greeted her.  She started upstairs, her steps heavy.  She was tired, and his increasing frustration was wearing on her.

          “Hey,” he caught her hand.  His emotions were tangled still but remorse emerged like a top note.  “I’m sorry.”

          Elsa turned back towards him, cupping his cheek with her hand.  “Thank you,” she said softly.  “I know it’s hard, but please realize I’m doing everything I can to help you.”

          Hernan nodded.  “I know you are.  I just…” He laughed bitterly.  “Never thought it’d be so hard to be legit.”

          “It’s hard to change,” she said, leaning down and kissing him lightly.  “Thank you so much for trying.”  She turned back to head upstairs, and he followed like a shadow.   “You’d make a good PI, or so Malcolm said.  Your reputation wouldn’t hurt you there.”

          “Yeah, he said as much to me.  Just not sure I want to follow crusty old men around, taking pictures of them with their mistresses.”

          Elsa opened the door to the spare room and slid the bed out of the way.  “You could go back to school.”

          “I was a terrible student.”

          “Most kids are,” Elsa said, moving the rug.  She felt Hernan’s interest sharpen as he realized it was a hidden safe. 

          “Clever,” he murmured. 

          “Even if they look in the spare room, no one thinks to check the floor for hidden safes.  Especially since there’s a wall safe in my room.”  Elsa unlocked it and pulled Hernan’s bag out.  She pushed the bag back to him and then started to close the safe.

          “Anything else in there?”

          “My birth certificate and passport,” Elsa admitted.  She pushed the door back open and pulled out the manila folder that held her paperwork.  Checking that the safe was empty, she handed Hernan the folder.  He opened it and glanced at her birth certificate. 

          “Elsa Luna?” 

          She blushed.  “My parents were hippies.  Though, Mae and I thought it was hilarious.  Star and Moon.”  She shrugged.  “What’s your middle name?”

          “Enrique,” he replied.  

          “Were you named after anyone?”

          “I don’t know, I never had the chance to ask.”

          “I’m sorry.”

          Hernan laughed once.  “Don’t be sorry, it was shit that happened a long time ago.”

          “But you didn’t have a family.”

          Hernan stared at her, and she could feel how offended he was.  “I had a family.  I had Che and his mama, and Mama Mabel and Cornell, and Romeo.  I had a lot of family.”

          Elsa didn’t know what to say to that, so she chose silence, taking her paperwork back and putting it away.  She closed and locked the safe, and then looked up at Hernan.  He was staring at her, and his emotions were a tangle of grief, love, and wonder.  She couldn’t parse it, couldn’t figure out what had hit him so hard.  She glanced behind her to make sure there wasn’t anything else in the room, and then looked back at him curiously.  “Hernan?”

          “Blood doesn’t make family,” he said softly.  “I learned that the hard way.”

          “Of course it doesn’t,” Elsa said.  “I’ve got more heart family than I ever had blood family.”

          “Heart family.”  Hernan smiled.  “Yeah.  I’ve had a lot of that.”

          Elsa replaced the rug, stood up and moved the bed back.  “I didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t have family at all, love.  Just that…when you’re little and don’t have family, it’s hard.”

          “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

          “I am.  My dad left when I was little.  I spent so many years trying to reach him…”  Elsa sighed.  “I hated all the ‘daddy-daughter’ crap.  All it did was remind me mine never gave a shit.”

          “Where is he now?”

          “Fuck if I know,” Elsa said, heading to the door.  “I saw him at my grandfather’s funeral, got his number, tried to reconnect _again_ , and after getting rebuffed a few times I gave up.”

          Hernan caught her arm, turned her to face him.  “He’s a fucking idiot if he couldn’t see how great you are.”

          Elsa smiled at him, stepped closer and slid her hands around his waist.  “Thank you, love.  Family is what we make of it, and I’ve made a good one here.”

          “Do you ever miss your home?” 

          “I am home.  With you.”

          Hernan smiled and bent his head to kiss her.  Elsa took advantage, kissing him back passionately.  She realized she’d missed this, too.  They’d been so focused on work or finding work, they hadn’t connected in days.  She pulled him closer, grinding against him, and he broke the kiss with a groan.

          “Elsa,” Hernan murmured, cupping her cheek then sliding his hand into her hair.  He clenched his hand into a fist, pulling her head back.  He licked along her neck, and she made a soft purring noise.  She slid her hands along his waist, pulling his tshirt out of his jeans to caress his bare skin.  He nipped her neck, then released her hair so he could unbutton the shirt she was wearing. 

          Elsa helped him pull it off, then unzipped and stepped out of her skirt.  Hernan caressed her skin, slid his hands from her waist to cup her bra and kiss the bare skin above the fabric.  She stroked the back of his neck as he kissed her collarbone then captured her lips again.  His tongue swirled around hers, making her moan against his lips.  He unhooked her bra and slid it down, still kissing her.  He dropped the bra on the floor and lifted her into his arms.  She wrapped her legs around him, and he carried her into their bedroom. 

          Elsa loved it when he did things like that.  She always felt so treasured in his arms.  He set her down on the bed, and she caressed his waist, then pulled his shirt off.  Hernan grabbed her panties and slid them down, then slowly climbed onto the bed, kissing his way up her legs. 

          She couldn’t help a shiver when he lightly nipped her thighs.  He pushed her legs apart and positioned himself between them, then slowly lowered himself to lick her pussy.  He licked lightly, making her squirm.  Elsa reached for him, and he made a happy noise as she ran her hands through his hair.  She let herself fall back on the bed as he wrapped his arms around her thighs and began sucking on her clit and thrusting his tongue in and out of her.  She moaned and grabbed handfuls of the blanket beneath her.  She felt him driving her up higher and higher and could not stop writhing against his mouth. 

          Elsa was trying to speak, but the only words she managed were incomprehensible, more moans than words.  Hernan’s licking and sucking and the pleasurable noises he was making against her combined to have her so full of sensation she could not form thoughts, much less anything coherent.  She was squirming against him, trying to get over the peak, but he kept backing off slightly to prolong her agonized pleasure.

          She was reduced to panting, hands tangled in the blanket, when Hernan finally stopped teasing her and sucked and licked her clit until she shuddered to a breathless climax.  She lay still, feeling shattered into a thousand pieces and yet light as air, as he crawled up her body, kissing her belly, breasts, and then capturing her lips. 

          Elsa realized she was open to him when she could hear his thoughts, how much he loved her and loved seeing her like this.  Hernan broke the kiss and just looked down at her, thinking how precious she was and realizing how close he’d come to losing her, to losing everything.  She cupped his cheek, her eyes welling with tears at his emotion.  She kissed him again, drawing him down to her, wrapping arms and legs around him and then laughing because he was still wearing his jeans.

          “Let’s not do that again,” Elsa whispered, making him laugh as well. 

          Hernan slid off the bed, unbuttoning and pulling his pants off.  Elsa could still feel him, deeper in her head than anyone had ever been.  She decided to try something she’d only ever done with Mae and worked to try to connect.  She wanted him to feel her the way she felt him and wanted him to know how she saw him.  Especially in this moment, when she was filled with love and lust, staring at his naked body and dying to have him inside her.

          Hernan climbed back on to the bed, slowly.  Taking his time, kissing her thigh, her hip, licking and sucking her nipples.  Elsa squirmed beneath him, trying to pull him up.  He chuckled softly and kissed her.  She again felt an ‘echo’ of sorts, as though she could connect with him on a level that wasn’t usual for non-enhanced people.  When he finally thrust inside, she felt the connection blooming and shuddered in pleasure at the dual sensations.

          Hernan threw his head back in pleasure, then looked down at her in wonder.  He leaned in and kissed her, and she could feel and hear him.  He was fearful he would not last because of all the sensations and worried about her pleasure.

          Elsa wrapped her legs around him, urging him on with body and emotions.  She hoped he could feel how greedy she was to feel his pleasure as well as her own, and as soon as she thought it she felt his desire match hers.  She couldn’t help but laugh, eyes alight.  Hernan smiled back at her, and then kissed her and they began moving together.  He moved until the pleasure was almost unbearable for her, and then pushed her over the edge with fast, deep thrusts.  She dug her fingers into him, holding on to him as if she’d shatter. 

          Hernan continued on, fucking her hard and fast, until Elsa came again, and then he let himself go.  She shivered with aftershocks at the feeling of his pleasure in her head and her body.  He let himself fall forward, though most of his weight moved to his elbows.  Elsa sighed happily and stroked his back and the back of his neck.  He shivered and pushed himself to one side, resting on his elbow, hand on his cheek.  He didn’t speak, just let the confusion and amazement flow between them. 

          Elsa laughed, and opened the channel wider.  She let him feel her joy, her love, and she rejoiced when Hernan opened his heart to her.  They kissed, and he snuggled her close.  She sighed and felt something within him unfurl.  For her part, she felt better than she could ever remember.  She could not have imagined this, not in her wildest dreams. 

          Later, they were making dinner together.  As usual, Elsa sliced the veggies while Hernan puttered with other preparations.  Her skill with knives—in the kitchen or outside it—never failed to cause him pride.  He loved that she was capable and fierce on her own, and yet would let him protect her.    

          Hernan went into the pantry to look for a can of sauce, and when Elsa glanced over, even though she could sense him, she could not see him.  She blinked and paused, setting the knife down, only to have him ‘reappear’ when he exited the darkness of the pantry.  Her confusion radiated to him.  He paused in the doorway, tilting his head at her with a slight frown. 

          “Elsa?  What’s wrong?”

          “I swear you vanished when you went into the pantry.  I couldn’t see you at all.  It’s not that dark, is it?”  She was a bit worried.  Was she seeing things?

          Hernan turned and went back into the darkened room, and as soon as he was in the shadows, he vanished.  Elsa gasped.  She opened the connection between them, and ‘showed’ him what she was seeing.  He stepped forward, and it wasn’t until he was in the light that Elsa could see him, though she could feel him and hear his thoughts the entire time. 

          Elsa covered her mouth with one hand, because Hernan’s emotions and thoughts were swirling.  She, too, was stunned and finally closed the connection between them to sort her own feelings. 

          She did not want to believe it.  And yet, Hernan vanished into the shadows more than once, proving her eyes were not fooling her.  Then, he vanished into the shadows of the pantry and came back from the living room.  That caused Elsa to gasp and stare. 

          Hernan was delighted.  “Come here, magical lady,” he said, gesturing.

          Elsa walked to him, and he grabbed her, kissing her and spinning her around before carrying her into the shadows with him.  It felt like cotton candy, a gossamer strand melting as they touched it.  And then they were in the pantry, and Hernan laughed.  There was a note of bitterness to the joy.  Elsa understood—had he possessed this power, would he have been able to change things?  Would Mariah be alive?  His life was transformed, but could it have been so much more?

          Elsa thought perhaps he had needed those lessons, but she said none of it and kept the connection between them closed.  Until Hernan stepped close to her and tilted her head back with one gentle finger to look into her eyes.  “You have given me magic,” he murmured.  His eyes were glittering, and even with the connection as closed as she could get it, she could still feel his excitement and wonder. 

          “It’s not magic,” she said softly.  “Just what is within you.”

          At that, he laughed, throwing his head back, a full body laugh with an edge of bitterness.  “I’ll never escape the shadows.”

          “You don’t have to escape them,” Elsa whispered.  “Just let the light in.”

          Hernan slid his hands around her waist, pulling her against him.  “Are you my light, Elsa?”

          His words startled her into opening the connection.  She felt his darker impulses, the urge for revenge, for easy money, for power.  She couldn’t hide her feelings, couldn’t prevaricate: her rejection of those thoughts was clear.  And so was his reaction.  His guilt, his wish that he was a better person, more worthy of her love.

          Elsa couldn’t help it.  Her love for him flowed, brushed aside his feelings of unworthiness.  She realized she’d love him even if he did give in; she’d love him despite his darkness.  And that was the light he needed. 

          Hernan kissed her, and all that was left was the love between them.


	2. Elsa gets a new watcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa and Hernan play with his new powers, and she gets a new PI tailing her.

      Over the next few weeks, Hernan and Elsa played with his new powers.  They discovered that if he stepped into the shadows anywhere in the city, she could ‘talk’ to him using her abilities.  He started testing his limits for shadow-walking and found he could ‘walk’ between boroughs without any drain.  Trying to go farther was draining but possible, he just needed to rest and eat between jaunts. 

      Hernan took a temporary job as a runner and document delivery boy and began using his powers to help him.  Elsa teased him about ‘cheating,’ but he was delighted by the ability, and she loved sharing his joy. 

      The only shadow over their idyll was that her instinct had been right.  Elsa did have a new tail.  Malcolm confirmed it when she called him from her office to check in.  He’d been tracking the PI and was worried about it because this guy had a very bad reputation.   Malcolm sent her updates daily, but still hadn’t been able to prove who was behind the hiring.  And since Kisson had stopped calling after Jeri’s last threat, she couldn’t even file a harassment claim for that.

      Elsa was being wary.  She changed up her route home, went to get coffee at a different shop, took the subway one day and a cab the next, and generally did her best to make sure the PI never knew where she was going to be.  When he started showing up where ever she was regularly, she texted Frank to ask about a bug detector.  Frank was not sanguine.  He called her.  “You know Mae would be really concerned about this request.”

      “I’m not sure why, I’m just trying to protect myself.”

      “Uh huh.”  Frank’s deadpan voice made Elsa bite her lip to keep from chuckling.  She liked him, all the more for how Mae felt about him. 

      “Seriously, Frank.  I’m probably just being paranoid, but I’d be more comfortable if I knew for sure if I was being surveilled or just jumping at shadows.”

      Frank sighed.  “I put some blockers in your house, they should still be good, but...  I’ll check them and get you a couple detectors tomorrow.  You think your office is bugged?”

      “I don’t know, but I can talk to Jeri about that.”

      “Do it.  Be safe.  Mae will kill me if you’re not.”

      Elsa chuckled.  “Thanks, Frank.”

      “Tomorrow,” he said and hung up. 

      Elsa grumbled that he hadn’t given her a time, and then her phone beeped.  Frank had some faith in her ability to get up early, given the 6am time he’d picked, but then again, better before work than after. 

      Now, she had to come up with an excuse to get Hernan out of the house. 


	3. Frank's visit and advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa asks Frank for help and gets it.

       Elsa got lucky.  Hernan had a 6am delivery, so he was gone when her alarm went off.  She turned off the alarm and hopped in the shower, planning on being dressed and ready before Frank arrived.  At 5:45, her phone beeped with a text. 

       “Hey, I’m in your neighborhood.  You ready?”

       “Yeah,” Elsa texted back.  “Want some coffee?”

       “Who doesn’t want coffee?” Frank texted back. 

       Elsa threw on pants and a simple silk shirt, put on coffee, and as she was heading to the door to unlock it and text Frank, he knocked.   She opened the door, and he strode in.  Without any niceties, he started checking things.  Elsa wondered if she had any friends who still trucked in niceties.  The thing he had put in the foyer seemed fine, given his pleased expression.  He walked into the living room, and she followed. 

       “Frank?”  He grunted.  “How long is this going to take?”

       “Not long,” he replied.  “Why?”

       “Just wondering,” Elsa said, prevaricating. 

       Frank had the same dry tone as Mae when he was grumpy.  “Uh huh.  Spit it out, or don’t, but don’t be coy.”

       “Just… I didn’t tell Hernan.”

       Frank was fiddling with a box that he’d pulled from the base of one of her floor lamps.  Elsa hadn’t even noticed it.  He was good at hiding things.  Frank grunted, then spoke.  His voice was tight.  “Didn’t tell Hernan I was coming?”  He looked up, piercing her with a knowing and angry look.  “Or didn’t tell him about the new tail?”

       “Um.”

       “You’re an idiot.”

       Elsa gaped at him.  Frank finished fiddling, hit a button, and a green light popped up.  “You’re a lucky idiot, but you’re still an idiot.  Hernan is a good man and he loves you, but you’re not going to let him protect you?”

       “I…”  Elsa had no words.  She fell silent, then gathered the shreds of her dignity and went to the kitchen to check on the coffee. 

       Frank followed.  “So far, the blockers are working.”  He set a small silver wand on the counter and accepted the mug of coffee she handed him.  “There were a few attempts, but nothing that worked.”  He pushed the wand closer to her.  “Take this, power button’s here,” he set a fingertip on the small indention.  “Run it over anything you want to check.”  He pushed the power button and waved the wand.  It glowed like a lightsaber, green from the tip to the power button.  “If it glows red, you need to check closer.”

       Elsa grabbed the laptop bag she’d been using and set it on the counter.  Frank waved the wand over it and it didn’t surprise her to see it turn red.  She just sighed.  Frank showed her how to make it more sensitive, and they waved it over the bag again.  They found the bug in one of the pen slots.  She had to give the PI credit—no one ever uses those, and she was no exception. 

       But Frank was pissed at the confirmation that once again she was being stalked, and he insisted on checking the entire house.  There were more bugs in the closet, in other bags she had used.  It was only when the entire house was cleared that Frank agreed to go.  Elsa was on edge, worried Hernan was going to come home, and that only made Frank grumpier. 

       “You need to tell him.  And Mae.  If you don’t, I am going to hold you responsible for the beat down she gives me.”

       “I will tell her.  Hell, I will text her right now, if you want.  But…”

       “But?”

       Elsa sighed.  “I don’t want Hernan to fall back into old habits.”

       “Fuck’s sake, Elsa.  That’s like getting a guard dog and then saying ‘I don’t want it to guard me.’”

       Elsa laughed once, then shook her head.  “You don’t get it, Frank.  The shit he went through—”

       “Fuck you!”  Frank exploded.  Elsa was stunned silent, staring at him.  He glowered at her, pointing one finger at her chest.  “You think I don’t get it?  You are an idiot.  I get it.  And I am glad you’re trying to help him, the way Mae helped me.  But fuck you, Elsa.  He needs you, and he needs to know he can protect you.  Stop trying to ‘help’ him and let him live.”

       Elsa managed to close her mouth.  Frank handed the wand to her, and she took it.  She felt like she should apologize, but her empathy was telling her he wasn’t really angry at her.  Hell, he wasn’t angry at all, just sad and frustrated.  Still.  “Frank...?”

       “Yeah?”

       “Sorry.”

       “Don’t be sorry.  Tell Mae and Hernan what’s going on.”

       “Okay,” Elsa said softly.  “Thanks for your help.”

       “Yeah,” Frank muttered.  “No problem.”  He gave Elsa a look as they walked to the door together.  She sighed and wilted a bit beneath his glower. 

       “I appreciate your advice.”

       “But you’re still not going to take it.”

       “I am going to text Mae right now,” Elsa said.  Frank sighed. 

       “Be careful, idiot.  Despite your thick headedness, you’re good people too.”

       Elsa smiled.  “Thanks, Frank.  You too.  Give Max pets from me.”

       Frank smiled and nodded as he left.  “Will do.”

       Elsa sighed and leaned against the door after she shut it.  She grabbed her phone and texted Mae, “hey, let me know when you can talk.  I have news.”

       Then she grabbed her bags and headed to work walking the long way, trying to see if the PI was still tailing her. 

       He was.


	4. Realizations shared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa tells Hernan, and realizes a few things.

      Elsa texted Hernan a few times throughout the day.  He was working on deliveries, and occasionally she would feel him when he passed into the shadows.  She intended to keep her promise, though the idea still terrified her.  As had become their habit, when she was done she turned out the lights in her ‘office,’ closed the door, and texted him that the shadows were open.

      He stepped out of those same shadows a moment later, grinning.  Elsa could not help smiling back.  His delight at being able to do ‘magic’ (as he called it) was still adorable, and his joy brushed aside her worries.  He strode over to where she was standing near the windows and kissed her lightly.  “Hey,” he murmured.  “Missed you.  I think I’m going to skip those early morning deliveries.  I prefer mornings with you.”

      Elsa knew her eyes had lit up at that.  Hernan’s willingness to admit things like that since they’d bonded was a constant source of joy to her.  “I missed you, too.  But you being away was actually a good thing this morning.  Frank came by to check on some of his stuff, and it looks like I have another stalker.”

      Hernan’s expression did not change, but Elsa could feel his emotions close up, felt his ‘Shades’ side emerge to assess the threat.  She realized part of her fear was around this side of him and losing him to it forever.  She leaned against the window, letting the cool glass soothe her.  Hernan spoke at last.  “Really,” he said.  “A PI again?”

      “Yeah.  I called Malcolm, he ran recon for me.  He’s not happy, either.  Says this guy is ‘unsavory’ and gives good, upstanding PIs like him a bad name.”

      “What do you want to do about it?”

      Elsa’s heart lightened a bit at that question.  Perhaps it would be ok.  “I want to find out if it’s that crazy fucking lawyer from Colorado, and if it is, I want to get him disbarred.”

      Hernan took her into his arms, and at that contact she could feel the emotions he was shielding from her.  His fear of losing her was as deep as her fear of losing him, and somehow that reassured her.  Elsa closed her eyes, pressing herself into his chest, and opened the link between them. 

      Hernan’s sigh echoed his mixed feelings: relief that her fears echoed his own, fear for her, rage that anyone dared threaten her…and so many other emotions.  Elsa pulled back slightly to look up at him, and he bent his head down to kiss her. 

_I will not let anyone hurt you,_ he thought.

      Elsa’s lips curved into a smile against his, and she kissed him back.  _I know you won’t._

      “So Frank just ‘came over’ to check on things?”  Hernan said, and Elsa could not help the stab of guilt that hit before she could close the bond between them.  Hernan glared at her, and his anger was like bile.  “You knew.”

      “I suspected.  Frank confirmed my fears.”

      “Elsa…”  Wordless anger.  Fear.  Fury.  “I’ve never lied to you.”

      Elsa lifted her chin.  “You kept a lot from me, Hernan.  Don’t you dare get mad at me for keeping this from you.”

      Hernan’s anger evaporated.  “Elsa,” he said softly.  His tone was completely different, softer, full of remorse.  “I didn’t mean to hurt you with that.”

      “No, you were _protecting_ me.  I know.  And I was trying to protect you, by getting all my facts straight instead of turning you loose on someone who may not have been doing anything wrong.”  Elsa stepped closer to him.  “I was afraid to tell you, I admit that.  But we are in this together, and I want you at my back more than anyone else.”

      Hernan smiled crookedly.  “Even Mae?”

      Elsa chuckled.  “Can I get back to you on that?”

      Hernan laughed and wrapped his arms around her, leaning his head against her hair.  Soft, barely more than a whisper, “I could not bear it if something happened to you.”

      “Oh, cariño.”  Elsa stroked his back, then laced her hands together and just held him.  “I feel the same.”

      “Then why were you afraid to tell me?”

      “I…”  Elsa could not find words.  She let her emotions speak for her, the fear he wouldn’t listen to her, that he’d go off and ‘fix’ things by himself and get hurt, the terror that he’d leave her like everyone else… 

      “Oh, querida, no,” he said quietly.  “Never.”  Hernan wiped away the tears Elsa couldn’t stop, cupping her face in his hands.  She felt his love as he kissed her eyes, trying to convey that love.  She crumpled against him, burying her face in his chest as she couldn’t stop the tears.  He held her, murmuring softly how much he loved her and wasn’t going anywhere.  “Elsa, Elsa,” he said, as he squeezed her gently.  And then he shared his feelings, his fear of hurting her, of destroying her the way he destroyed everything else.  His isolation and solitude, and his fear he’d drive her away.  The fear that she’d see the evil in him and reject him.  The even deeper fear that she’d hate him for who he really was.

      Elsa looked up at him, her eyes damp with tears, and shook her head.  “I know who you are, Hernan.  Like I told Misty, you’ve done terrible things, but I still believe in you.”

      “I still miss that life,” Hernan admitted quietly.  “I understood it.  I knew the rules and where I fit.”

      “You were good at it,” Elsa said.  “I feel like it’s natural to miss something when you’re good at it.”

      Hernan laughed bitterly.  “I wasn’t good enough to save Mariah.”  Quieter.  “Or Che.”

      “We can’t save everyone,” she said softly.  “But maybe we can save each other.”

      “Will you let me save you, Elsa?  Even if it means doing things my way?”

      Elsa stared into his eyes, knowing exactly what he meant.  She could see the scenes flashing through his mind, the deaths he regretted, and the many more he didn’t.  In that moment, she realized her own ruthless streak.  She was grateful he didn’t regret more of the deaths, grateful he was alive and they weren’t.  She pushed that aside for later contemplation and cupped his face in her palms.  “I trust you, cariño.  I trust you with my life.  I trust that you would never harm me, and that you will protect me to the ends of the earth.  How can I not let you save me, even if it means someone else gets hurt?”

      “Or dead.”

      “Or dead,” Elsa said, agreeing.  She smiled crookedly, sharing the other realization with him.  “I would kill for you.  How can I ask you do to less for me?”

      Hernan stared at her, and she could feel his shock and a dawning sense of awe.  He pulled her close, resting his head against hers.  “Te amo, querida.”

      “Te amo, Hernan,” she whispered back, feeling at peace for the first time in days.  


	5. Friends...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hernan and Frank have lunch

      The next day, Hernan was startled to get a text from Frank, asking if he’d be free for lunch.  The request was so odd and out of the blue, he couldn’t say no.  His curiosity was too strong.  He agreed, texted Elsa about it, and discovered that Frank had threatened to tell him about the stalker if Elsa hadn’t. 

      Hernan decided he liked Frank a lot.

      He spent the morning between deliveries checking on the investments he’d made with the money that Mae and Elsa had hidden for him.  He honestly hadn’t expected Elsa to still have it.  He hadn’t expected her to do any of the things she’d done, and yet… every day he was surprised by her.  The love he felt for her sometimes took his breath away.  He stepped into the shadows, sent a rush of love Elsa’s way, knowing she’d feel it, and then stepped out of the shadows to deliver paperwork to Jeri’s old partners. 

      It never failed to amuse Hernan, some of the connections that he had.  Jeri Hogarth being at the top of the list.  She was an amazing lawyer and he’d always be glad that Mae and Elsa had enough pull with her that she’d helped him after Misty tried to screw him with that stupid clause in his deal.  But the fact that his girlfriend worked with her and was damn good at her legal job still boggled him.  Especially given his past.   How could someone like Elsa love him?  And yet, he knew she did.  He felt it. 

      Hernan almost ran into Foggy as he left Benowitz and Chao, after getting the signature he needed.  Foggy greeted him warmly (which boggled him again) and they chatted for a quick moment.  Hernan liked Foggy despite himself.  The kid was good people, though Hernan couldn’t help feeling like he was eons older than Foggy and wondering why the kid was so nice and enthusiastic.  Too nice, really, if such a thing was possible.  After a brief catch up, wherein Hernan was reminded how utterly oblivious Foggy was as Foggy started to tell him why he was there, and then realized it was classified and cut himself off, he was finally able to escape.  Foggy said to give Elsa his love as he headed off.  Hernan strolled across the street to find a suitable shadow, and realized it was almost time to meet Frank.

      He swiftly dropped off his proof of delivery at work, clocked out for lunch, and headed back to the shadows to navigate to the restaurant Frank had suggested.  It was a little family owned joint not far from Mae’s house, though Hernan hadn’t even been aware of it until Frank pointed it out.  He glanced at the menu that was hanging in the window, pleased to see burgers, steaks, and chops listed.  He opened the door and was immediately greeted by a cute little blond kid.  Hernan was reminded of Foggy, since the kid was way too happy for life. 

      He spotted Frank, gestured that he was expected, and the kid escorted him to the table.  He slid into the booth across from Frank and nodded to the other man.  Frank nodded back, and they set to perusing the menu.  Frank opined, while still staring at his menu, that the burgers here were among the best in the city. 

      Hernan accepted that recommendation, and when their server appeared, he ordered a burger and a coffee.  Frank ordered a burger and a coke, and then they proceeded to sit there quietly.  Hernan was waiting for Frank to speak, and it seemed like the other man was waiting for him.  He was reminded of the walk home with Elsa, and chuckled. 

      “Something funny?”  Frank sounded grumpy, but Hernan had noticed he almost always sounded grumpy.  He wasn’t going to take it personally.

      “I was just reminded of the night I met Elsa.”

      “Oh yeah?”  Frank seemed genuinely interested, which surprised Hernan.

      “We were walking home from a bar, and I couldn’t think of anything to talk about.  I expected her to chatter, but… well.  She doesn’t.”

      “Mae’s the same way,” Frank said thoughtfully.  “She just… lets the silence happen.”

      “She’s always been like that,” Hernan said. 

      “How well do you know her?”  Frank seemed to loom, suddenly. 

      Hernan had the urge to pull his sunglasses out but resisted.  “My cousin was in her unit.  When he got offed, she came to tell me herself.  She was tore up from the floor up and still took it on herself to make sure I knew Perro’d died honorably.  She’s tougher than most men, and someone I’d be glad to have at my back.” 

      Frank was silent, but Hernan was done speaking.  Frank frowned just slightly as the silence stretched.  “Isn’t this the part where you tell me if I fuck her over, you’ll kill me?”

      Hernan laughed.  “No, man.  No need.  Mae wouldn’t leave enough of you for me to do more than piss on.  And if she did, I’d have to get in line behind Elsa.”

      Frank laughed.  “You’re not wrong.”

      “How’d you end up with her?”

      “Karen, Foggy, and Matt thought I needed to lighten up.  They invited me to a block party, and she was there.”

      Hernan laughed.  “That sounds like Foggy.  Kid’s got a heart the size of the fucking state.”  Frank chuckled and nodded.  Hernan picked up his coffee cup, but just held it as he spoke.  “So, Mae hit you over the head and carried you off?”

      “No,” Frank said with a slight smile.  “She wasn’t even sure I liked her at first, since I didn’t make a move.  She ran off too fast that first day.”

      Hernan thought of his first night with Elsa after years of searching and sipped his coffee to hide a smile.  “But you ran after her?”

      “Something like that,” Frank said.  And apparently that was that, because he abruptly changed the subject.  “So, did Elsa tell you about her stalker?”

      “Yeah.  You know something?”

      “Word on the streets is that her new PI is a guy named Geoff Ferguson.  He’s been suspected of kidnapping more than once.”

      Hernan felt his insides go cold.  He could tell something in his expression changed because Frank’s expression was suddenly slightly approving instead of aloof.  Hernan’s voice was rough, flat.  “Really.”

      “Evidence kept vanishing.  Cops never followed up.  Odd stuff for a sketchy PI.” Frank said, deadpan.

      “Uh-huh.”

      “My safeguards will keep him from hearing shit inside your house.  And Elsa has a bug detector, so he shouldn’t be able to do more than keep planting them from time to time.  But be alert, Shades.  Dude is bad news.”

      “Yeah.  Thanks for the head’s up.”

      “You got it.  Elsa’s good people.”

      “She saved my life,” Hernan said softly, and meant it.

      “I get it.  Mae’s helped me more than she knows.”

      “Yeah?”

      Frank smiled.  An actual smile.  Hernan didn’t know he knew how to.  Frank shook his head and spoke.  “I forgot how to live, man.  She reminded me.”

      Hernan grinned.  “She does that.”

      “You know she plays hockey?”

      “No!”

      Frank nodded.  “No shit, man.  She can skate.”  Frank’s expression turned distant, fond.  “She looks amazing on the ice.”

      “Huh.”

      Their food arrived, and both men fell silent to eat.  Hernan was pondering ice skating, thinking on whether doing something silly and touristy like Rockefeller Center would be up Elsa’s alley.  He realized he wanted to be romantic with her, and for whatever reason, that seemed romantic.  He finished his burger, wiped his mouth, and leaned back in the booth.

      “Frank.”

      “Yeah?”

      “You think Mae would teach me to ice skate?”

      “You’d have to ask her, wouldn’t you?  But I don’t see why not.”  A pause, while Frank ate a few French fries.  Then he glowered at Hernan.  “Why?”

      “Elsa.  Just… thinking about things I’d like to do, and I think I have a great idea for Christmastime.”

      Frank half-chuckled.  “Damn, man.  You got it bad, don’t you?”

      Hernan couldn’t help the goofy grin.  “Yeah, I guess I do.”  Frank shook his head.  Hernan couldn’t help himself.  “You can’t talk much, man.”

      Frank laughed.  “I ain’t talking at all.”

      They finished lunch, and Frank refused to let Hernan pay for all of it.  Hernan left a generous tip, and the men parted ways. 

      Hernan had a name.  And he knew where to find all the dirt.  He headed back to work with a plan.  Elsa was going to be safe if he had anything to say about it.


	6. Elsa gets kidnapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa's stalker finally acts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Violence and trauma

     Elsa felt Hernan as he was moving in and out of the shadows during the day, and she was delighted by his periodic texts, until the last one.  He texted her that he’d be late tonight because he had some business to take care of.  Something in her knew that was a bad thing.  She frowned at her phone and considered what she wanted to say back to him.  Finally, she decided she couldn’t really object.  He’d been more than patient with her when she’d had trial days run long.  She tucked her phone into her pocket and headed out to the subway. 

     She had to admit, part of the problem was that she really liked having him take her home through the shadows. 

     Elsa navigated the subway with the ease of long practice, slightly annoyed at the lack of available seats.  She stood to the rear of a car, trying to make sure no one got behind her, and fought to close her mind to the dozens of people around her.  She sighed, wishing the car would empty a bit, and considered looking to see if one of the other cars was less crowded.  She hated standing the entire ride home. 

     As they approached her stop, Elsa felt a pinch.  A quick glance around didn’t help.  No one was close to her.  And yet… she had an instant bad feeling.  Her stop finally arrived, and she quickly walked out.  As she did, a wave of dizziness hit.  She tried to reach out to Hernan but couldn’t make her mind work.  She leaned against a bench, trying to shake off the sudden urge to sleep.

     “Lady, you ok?”  A male voice.  A hand on her elbow.  His mind, open to hers.  He was not innocent.  The PI.  What the fuck had he done to her? Elsa thought, frantic.

     “I don’t—” Elsa tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn’t work.  Too late, Elsa realized.  She couldn’t move at all.  The PI’s face was triumphant. 

     “Here, let me help you,” he said aloud.  He half-carried her to his vehicle. 

     Elsa panicked.  She tried to struggle, but she couldn’t make her body obey.  She tried to speak, but she couldn’t make the words happen.  She tried to reach Hernan, but he wasn’t in the shadows.  And then she was being strapped into the passenger seat of an SUV, and everything went black.

     Elsa awoke to darkness and discomfort.  She thought, at first, that she was in the shadows with Hernan, but a quick check brought only agonizing pain to her head.  She couldn’t sense anything.  She tried to move, and found her hands and feet were tightly—painfully—bound, and she was blindfolded and gagged.  She struggled.  She couldn’t help it.  When she heard laughter, she froze.  Again, she wanted to lash out, but she couldn’t.  Her mental powers brought only pain. 

     Elsa dug her feet into whatever was beneath her and pushed, trying to move away from the other person.  She managed to push herself against a wall, and thus get a little bit more upright.  Her head throbbed.  What the fuck had happened?  How had she missed how dangerous this guy was? 

_Malcolm tried to warn you,_ she thought.  But even Malcolm’s warning hadn’t prepared her for this. 

     “I’m guessing you’re wondering where you are?”  Elsa froze.  The man chuckled.  “Don’t worry.  You won’t be here long.”

     The sound of a door opening and closing.  Elsa growled to herself.  Fuck if she’d sit here like a trussed chicken.  She squirmed around until she could get herself into a better position, though she had to stop after only a short time because the pounding in her head made her nauseated.  She rested her head on her knees and breathed for a moment. 

     Once the worst of the nausea passed, she started trying to shift her hands under her ass so she could get them in front of her.  That was how she discovered they were actually hooked to something either on the floor or the wall.  She huffed in frustration.  She was not going to just sit here.  She started trying to writhe against the bond, to free her hands.  While she was fighting, she kept trying to scrape whatever was over her eyes off.  The door opening made her freeze again. 

     “Ah, good,” came the mellow voice.  A different one.  A familiar one.  Elsa snarled.  They ignored her.  “The transfer will complete as soon as she’s loaded in the plane.”

     Elsa felt someone close in on her, a hand on her shoulder.  She tensed, ready to fight, but then her feet were pulled and she was flat on her back.  She reacted without thinking, and blinding pain in her head reminded her she didn’t have that option any longer. 

     A pinch in her hip.  Fuck!  She struggled, but it did no good.  The darkness swam up and claimed her. 


	7. First steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hernan will find Elsa, no matter what...

     Hernan was looking for Geoff, and his lack of finding the other man had his hackles up.  He gave up around 8pm, texting Elsa that he was coming home the fast way, and that he’d get dinner if she hadn’t cooked.  He stepped into some shadows in an alley and came out in the kitchen.

     It was dark, quiet.  Too quiet.  “Elsa?”

     He checked his phone.  Nothing.  He stepped back into the shadows, reaching out for her.  Usually, he’d feel an echo even if she wasn’t reaching back.  But there was nothing.  Emptiness.  Hernan was not a man prone to panic, but this was so completely unexpected he could feel nothing but utter horror for a moment.  

     He stepped out of the shadows, back into the kitchen, and pushed the panic aside.  He took the stairs two at a time and slammed into the spare room, to the closet.  Frank had given him a bag of assorted guns and ammo, and he’d kept an extra bag in there, of suits he didn’t think he’d need.  But… well.  One did not go into battle unarmed or unarmored. 

     He pulled out a black suit, grey shirt to go under it, and grey tie.  A black belt to hold the shoulder holster he’d need.  And, of course, shades.  From the gun bag, he got his favorite Colt, and several full clips.  Then the shoulder holster, the one with extra space for clips. 

     Hernan dressed quickly, methodically.  He slid the gun into the holster, grabbed a backup gun with a waist holster, and several knives that he tucked in various places.  Finally, he slid on black leather gloves. 

     Thus fortified, he closed the bags, slid them back into the closet, and walked into the shadows.  He would find Elsa, no matter what it took. 

 

     Hernan went to Harlem first.  Some habits die hard, and he knew Turk knew way too much about everything.  He slipped out of the shadows in the back room of Turk’s shop, and then peered around the doorway.  Turk was alone, reading something on his phone.

     “You owe me,” Shades said softly.  Turk jumped and grabbed his gun.  Shades ignored his spluttering and threats.  “Turk.”

     “Fuck, man, what the hell you doin’ here?  Luke gonna kill you—”

     “He’d have to see me for that, and he’s not going to, is he?”

     “What the fuck, man.”

     “I’m looking for someone.”  He pulled out his phone and went to a picture of Elsa he’d taken while she wasn’t looking.  She was smiling, tucking hair behind one ear.  His heart contracted painfully.  He turned the phone to Turk.  “You seen this woman?”

     “SHIT!  What the fuck you want with Elsa?  She’s good people, man, you don’t even—”

     “Turk.”  Hernan’s tone managed to cut through Turk’s protests.  “How do you know her?”

     “She gave me intel.  On you, even, one time!  She told me how they was tryina fuck with you, back when you was accused of snitching.”  He thumped his chest with one fist.  “She had your back.”

     “Now I need to have hers,” Shades said.  “Can you help me?”

     “I dunno, Shades, man.  Luke, he said anyone helps you, he’d take offense.”

     “You’re not helping me; you’re helping Elsa.”

     “I don’t got much.”

     “Any little bit can help.”

     “I heard that fucker, Ferguson was asking questions about her.  Told my people to play dumb.  She hangs with the Saint, yanno, and everyone up in Hell’s Kitchen protects Saint’s people.”

     “Yeah,” Hernan said.  He knew the ‘Saint’ was Mae, and he’d heard before how she was protected special by the Hell’s Kitchen crew but getting confirmation of it now amused him.  Not for the first time, he thought about how different his life might’ve been if he’d grown up in the Kitchen instead of Harlem.  He slipped a hundred dollar bill out of his pocket.  “You know where Ferguson holes up?”

     “Supposedly, he has a place in the Kitchen.  But mostly he works out of vans, they say.”

     Hernan handed Turk the bill.  “Thank you.”

     Turk fidgeted, held the bill and stared at it, then looked back up at Shades.  “Hey.”

     “What?”

     “You find her, ok?”  Turk fidgeted more under Shades impervious stare but didn’t back down.  “She was nice.  And her an Saint, they’re tight.  Saint would be upset, too, and nobody wants Saint upset.”

     Shades spoke hoarsely, the words dragged from his heart.  “I swear to you, I will find her or die trying.”

     Turk stepped back, startled by his vehemence.  He spoke again, but Shades was already heading for the shadows.  Hernan heard movement behind him, but he stepped sideways into the dark and was gone. 


	8. Elsa wakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa wakes up and tries to improve her situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: kidnapping and trauma

     Elsa woke up and instantly regretted it.  The physical pain was vicious.  Her hands and feet were asleep and moving anything made her whimper.  She shifted, and realized she was in a bag of some sort.  She couldn’t straighten out, and the way she was crunched up was also painful.  Her ears hurt.  She swallowed hard, and that cleared her ears a little.  She listened, concentrating like she hadn’t in a long time.  She could hear white noise, engine sounds, feel rumbles.  Plane, they’d said.  She believed it but cursed internally that she couldn’t see to confirm it.  

     The worst part, though, was the lack of her extra senses.  She had never been this blind before, and she hated the feeling.  She still couldn’t reach out without a debilitating headache.  And yet…this time, when she reached out, she felt something that hadn’t been there before.

     Elsa pushed herself.  _Hernan, please god hear me._

     Love.  Distant, muted, but there.  Searching for her.  Iron resolve. 

     Elsa couldn’t keep reaching.  The blinding pain drove her back into her body, and she wept at the loss. 

 

     Shades was crouching in the shadows, debating his next move when he felt her.  Elsa!  He stood, scanning the dark for that feeling.  It was a gossamer thread, distant and wreathed in pain.  That hit hard.  Fury rose to blind him.  He would pay them back, every agony they inflicted on her a thousandfold.  He reached out with all the love in his heart and felt her relief.  Then she was gone. 

     But he had a direction.  He started walking.

 

     Elsa spent time trying to control the pain, trying to rein it in so she could reach out again.  The crying hadn’t helped.  She was having trouble breathing thanks to her nose clogging and the bag she was trapped inside.  She worked on calming her breathing and on finding some way to be comfortable.  She needed her resources. 

     Time dragged.  Elsa felt another person come close, though she couldn’t tell who.  And then she felt a thump, heard grinding and a high-pitched whine.  She squirmed, but still could not move well.  Then she felt herself lifted, moved.  Rolled, she thought.  It hurt, but everything hurt.  Then, stairs and noise and ye gods.  She flinched and shut her eyes hard, praying that she wouldn’t vomit and kill herself. 

     That fear chilled her enough that Elsa was able to breathe through the pain and push the nausea back.  She was lifted, and a door slammed.  Then another door, and an engine starting.  A radio playing music, quickly silenced.  Elsa ground her teeth against the gag, wishing for violence.

     “Ah, at last, we are alone.”  That mellow voice.  Kisson.  “You remember me, don’t you?”

     Elsa stayed silent, testing her power.  She could feel Hernan, though he was still distant.  He was in the shadows, and he was coming.  That gave her heart, despite the pain in her head.  Also helpful was that her bonds were loosening around her wrists.  The struggling and movement in the bag had helped.  She managed to get her arms in front of her.  She worked the gag from her mouth and began working on the tape on her wrists, peeling it back and trying to tear it with her teeth. 

     Kisson kept talking.  Elsa paid only as much attention as she needed to be certain that he was not stopping.  He told how he had recognized her, wanted her from the beginning, they were meant to be, because he knew her…  Elsa let his voice become background noise and continued working.

     Elsa freed her hands, freed her feet, and then took the blindfold off.  Her hands and feet were numb and pained.  She worked them as hard as she could, screaming internally, tears of pain streaming down her cheeks. 

     She found the zipper in the bag and slowly tried to open it.  It was quiet, to her relief.  Kisson was still rambling on, and she managed to escape the bag.  For a moment, she just breathed the fresh, cool air, grateful for it.  She was sweating from pain, and the air helped.  Then Elsa blinked, frowning.  It was light enough out for her to be able to see out the windows of the vehicle.  It was an SUV, and she was in the way back. 

_Idiot,_ Elsa thought scathingly.  Though, also, thank god he was an idiot, or thank god it was usual for people to put their luggage in the wayback.  She closed her eyes, reached for Hernan.  The pain still blocked her, the drugs still weakening her powers.  But she could feel him, and he was closing in. 

     Elsa looked around, looking for any weapon.  A briefcase, another bag.  Nothing dangerous.  Well.  She peeled up the carpet, wondering.  And yes, found the flat edge of the floor.  She lifted it slightly and slid her hands under it, searching.  Elsa found what she was looking for.  Long, slender metal.  One end sharp.  Oh yes.  She dragged it out, pleased. 

     Elsa clung to the tire iron, listened to Kisson droning on about how unstoppable they’d be together, and thought about what she’d felt from Hernan not long ago, and what Mae had told her years and years ago.  She prayed she was strong enough to do it.


	9. Decisions and aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa takes a stand, and the aftermath of her decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Graphic violence, killing, descriptions of gore

      Elsa saw the garage door open from her vantage point, laying down in the back.  She clutched the tire iron harder and waited, her eyes on the wayback.  She heard a door open, but nothing moved.  She looked around, frantic, to see him peering over the seat. 

      “Ah ah ah,” Kisson tsked at her.  “That’s not very nice.”

      Elsa snarled and lashed out, but he caught the end of the tire iron and plucked it from her grasp, then retreated from the vehicle.  She pushed herself upright, sitting in the corner farthest from him, and waited.  She still wasn’t sure if she’d be able to stand, but she damn sure wasn’t going down without a fight. 

      The wayback opened at last, but Elsa didn’t move, trying to see where Kisson was so she could fight.  When it was finally all the way up and no one was there, she peered around nervously.  Kisson was still nowhere to be seen.  She could see the garage door, and a shelf to her right.  She wondered if there were weapons.  She scooted to the center of the vehicle, peering left and right warily.  She slipped closer to the edge, then tried to stand.  Pain shot up through her legs, and she managed to stumble over to the garage door.  She put the door at her back, creeping closer to the corner. 

      Standing still was agony.  Elsa’s feet had not recovered entirely from the long ordeal of being tied up, and the way she was stuffed into that bag, both legs hurt.  She leaned against the garage door and panted, trying to get the courage to walk, to try to escape.  She closed her eyes and could feel Hernan.  He was close, trying to find a shadow that he could come into.  She scanned for a light switch, garage door opener, something.  The white walls glowed in the garage light, mocking her.  She closed her eyes again, fighting the headache that threatened to engulf her. 

      “You can’t escape,” Kisson said. 

      Elsa opened her eyes to find him standing in front of her holding a gun.  Her insides froze.  She stood there, rubbing her still-tingling hands on her pants, staring at him.  She couldn’t think of a thing to say.

      “Come on, be a good girl,” he said, gesturing with the gun.  Elsa stumbled away from the corner and walked in front of him, leaning on the giant SUV.  She flinched away from him as he reached for her.  She felt a flash of anger from him, and he shoved her hard.  She fell forward onto her hands, which hurt badly.  She pushed herself onto her knees, started to try to get back up.  “No,” he said, and she heard the click of the safety going off.  Fear gave her adrenaline.  She scooted, curling up, getting herself away from him. 

      “Crawl,” Kisson said, and the fury in his voice had her obeying despite herself.  She was desperate not to get shot, and terrified of his rage.

      Elsa’s powers were coming back, but unevenly.  She felt the fury from Kisson, could feel Hernan lurking in the shadows, but couldn’t feel anything else, couldn’t get a good read of Kisson in general. 

      Hernan’s presence in her mind was a relief, but his locked-down void of emotion told Elsa exactly how furious he was.  She was afraid of what he would do, even while she was counting on him to help her. 

      Elsa crawled over a threshold, into what she deduced was a mudroom, given the tile and benches and shoes.  Then into a kitchen, tiled floor and an island in front of her, a fridge to her left.  She couldn’t help but notice the butcher’s block and the knives atop the island.  Oh, the knives.  She made a decision, then and there.  She would live, and protect Hernan.  And just like that, she was resolved.  Clear-headed.  Her fear vanished.  She gripped the edge of it and pulled herself up to an unsteady standing position, then turned to glare at Kisson.

      “You aren’t cooperating,” he said, almost poutily.  “I told you in the car, we can do so much together.”

      “You never asked me.”

      “You wouldn’t take my calls!” Kisson shouted angrily.  “All I wanted was to talk to you!”  He gestured, waving the gun, and that was all the opening Elsa needed.  She grabbed the chef’s knife and leaped, trusting to muscle memory to help her complete a move she’d done thousands of times in practice. 

      Nothing could have prepared her for the difference when the blade sank home, caught on bone, and stuck.  The blood spurting from the wound.  The shock in his eyes as the reality hit.  He dropped the gun, reaching for his neck, gurgling and sinking to the floor.  He kept trying to talk, choking on his own blood.  Blood sprayed her, more blood than she’d thought possible, warm and thick, and yet she felt cold, chilled to the bone.

      Elsa stood over him, staring, dripping blood, the knife still in her hand.  As the light went out of his eyes, she sank to her knees and dropped the knife.  She waited, half-afraid he’d move, half-afraid he wouldn’t.  What had she done? 

      “Elsa.”  Soft, gentle.  “Elsa?”  

      It was a measure of how deeply in shock she was that she didn’t even flinch at Hernan’s voice.  “Don’t,” she rasped.  She had to clear her throat.  “Don’t come closer.  You don’t want to leave trace.”

      “Elsa, baby,” Hernan’s voice was thick, full of emotion.  She could feel him now, and he was so proud of her, so sad for her, so in awe of her.  It made her turn to look at him, to stare.  It was a physical pain that she couldn’t fall into his arms and let him soothe her.  His face was hidden behind the sunglasses, but his emotions were like sunlight.  She turned back to the dead body, feeling too cold, too numb to look at him.

      “I need to find a phone, to call the police.”  Elsa finally really saw the giant puddle of blood she was kneeling in and shoved herself upright.  She shuddered as her pants legs, covered in blood, stuck to her skin.  She had to stand still for a long moment, swaying, fighting not to vomit or pass out.    

      “Querida—” Hernan stepped closer, reaching for her.  She waved him back. 

      “It’s clearly self-defense, Hernan.  I’ll be ok.”

      “You’re in shock.  Let me take you home.”

      Elsa shook her head.  “I know, you could make all this go away.  But I…”  Elsa sighed, and crumpled, tears leaking.  “I need justice first.  Then revenge.”

      “I’m going to find the PI who started all this.”

      “Don’t kill him.  I want him to suffer.”

      Shades laughed, a husky, dark chuckle.  “No, death would be too easy.  I’m going to find him and make sure he knows exactly how much pain you went through.  And then you’re going to implicate him in all this, and we’ll call in some favors to make sure he goes to Rikers.  And you know what kind of reception he’ll get there.”

      Elsa smiled.  And felt Hernan’s pride at the darkness reflected there.  She blew him a kiss, feeling steadied by him, and by her imaginings of what Fisk would do to that fucker.  “Find him, love.  I’ll call the police, and we’ll make sure he pays.”

      “That’s my girl,” Shades murmured, and vanished into the shadows. 

      Elsa had a moment of panic at being alone, and Hernan instantly reached out to her, surrounding her in love.  She breathed.  She could still feel him; he wasn’t gone.  He was still hers.  She couldn’t help herself, though.  _Stay in the shadows for a while?_

_Of course, querida.  I’ll tell you when I’m close to home and need to leave._

      Elsa squatted, checked Kisson’s pockets, and found his phone.  And then she called Shana first.  Shana recommended her “the best” criminal lawyer in the area, and after calling to confirm he’d gladly work for her, Elsa called the police. 

      The police arrived to find her sitting in the kitchen, staring at nothing.  Once Elsa had managed the phone calls, she’d let Hernan leave the shadows, and just…sat.  She knew on one level that she was in shock, but on another level, she was processing what she’d done.  She understood now, the line that Hernan had crossed, that Mae had crossed, that Frank had crossed before her.  She wondered how they’d feel about what she’d done, if they’d be proud of her, too, like Hernan was.  It was too much for her emotions, and afraid she’d start hysterically crying, she blanked herself after a few moments.

      The police took her to the hospital, where she was checked over and given fluids.  Her lawyer came to her, once she let him know where she was, and she got to meet Shana’s husband.  Victor Delacroix looked more like a professor than Elsa had expected given Shana’s description of him.  Shana called him “a Rottweiler in a three-piece suit.”  He came across like a sleepy-eyed, distracted scientist.  But he shook her hand, and Elsa felt the sharp mind behind the façade, and instantly liked him.

      He insisted the cops leave, so he could talk to her in private.  When the cops protested, he proved his worth, and bullied them out so he could speak to her.  Elsa approved.  She told him everything, except her powers allowing her to contact Hernan, and his presence in the house at the end.  When she finished, Victor was speechless for a moment, then shook his head. 

      “Miss Korre, you didn’t even need to call me, really.  Your case is as open and shut as I’ve ever heard.”  Still, Elsa could hear something in his voice, and frowned.

      “But?”

      Victor chuckled.  “You really have been working with lawyers a long time.”

      “I have,” Elsa said.  “So, what’s the catch?”

      “Interstate kidnapping means the FBI.”

      “Oh.”  Elsa sat with that for a moment, then sighed.  “Well, shit.”

      “I’ll get you cleared here, so you can go home.  But the FBI will want to talk to you after that.”

      “Yeah.”  Elsa sighed.  “OK, well, let the cops know I’m happy to give a statement whenever.”

      “Just tell them what you told me, sign it, and you’ll be fine.  I’ll double check, of course, to make sure there aren’t any sneaky clauses, but I truly expect you’ll be home tomorrow.”


	10. Reactions.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa and Hernan react differently to the kidnapping.

     Victor’s advice proved correct.  The police took her statement from her hospital bed and asked her to stay put until they could investigate.  Within a few hours, they found evidence of the conspiracy in Kisson’s truck and on his computer.  Victor kept her informed of the investigation through contacts he had at the police station.  He also told her, off the record, that several of his compatriots in the legal field were very, very grateful to her for exposing Kisson.  He was dirty and ruthless, and that was acting in her favor, too.

     The hospital insisted on keeping her overnight once the drug test confirmed that she’d been dosed, to her annoyance.  But Elsa spoke to Hernan through the shadows, and then made a phone call to him where he acted properly frantic just in case someone was listening.  (Elsa did not trust borrowed phones any more than he did.)  He flew out to be with her on a red eye (cursing the need for a paper trail the entire time) and Elsa finally relaxed once he took her in his arms the next morning.  She couldn’t wait until she could go home with him. 

     Hernan looked a wreck despite the dapper suit; Elsa was pretty sure he hadn’t slept at all on the plane.  She rested her head against his shoulder and tried not to cry from relief and overwhelm.  He kept touching her gently, her cheek, her hands, her arms.  The contact helped center her.  He didn’t care what she’d done; to him, it was a normal thing.  That was both reassuring and odd, to her.  More reassuring, at the moment. 

     Victor cleared his throat.  “The hospital is going to release you, but I still have a few things I need you to sign before you can leave.”

     “Do we need to stay, for the police?” Hernan asked.  Elsa could hear the edge in his voice; he was still in Shades-mode, despite his kindnesses to her.  At the moment, she appreciated it, though she did try to straighten up a little, to present a good front to Victor.

     “No.  I spoke with the DA this morning, he has no intention of charging you with any crime.”  Victor smiled a bit smugly.  “I believe your statement was utterly clear; you were the victim.  Evidence backs this up, particularly things they found in Kisson’s house.  He was clearly unhinged.”

     Elsa tried to think what would make a cop call someone ‘unhinged,’ since the echo she could hear from Victor’s thoughts was that that was a direct quote.  She pushed it out of her head, focusing on the positive.  “Then let’s sign some papers and get home,” Elsa said. 

     Victor handed the papers over, and Elsa read them carefully.  Nothing sketchy, so she signed them with a great deal of relief.  Victor would take care of anything the police needed, not that she expected anything else to come up.  Still, it was nice to have that assurance.  She made a note to send he and Shana a gift basket or something. 

     Then they waited for the hospital bureaucracy to release Elsa.  Which took long enough that Hernan was getting antsy.  He kissed her forehead.  “I am going to go check some things out and get us a hotel room.  You need to rest.  I’ll be back, ok?”

     Elsa realized he wanted to go get weapons, now that he knew she’d be ok, and she nodded reluctantly.  She was uncomfortable but didn’t want to hold him back.  He headed out, and Elsa let her head fall back against the bed.  She’d need to talk to Frank; she wanted some kind of harness to carry a hidden knife full time.  Wrist sheaths, too, she thought.  She reached for her phone and realized she still didn’t have it.  And even if she did, she didn’t know Frank’s number.  She should have asked Hernan to get her phone, she thought, suddenly angry at herself. 

     The anger vanished, replaced by guilt and sadness.  Elsa put her face in her hands and let herself cry. 

 

     Hernan slipped into a convenient supply closet, closed the door, turned out the light, and let the shadows take him back to their house.  The power was odd; it had taken him ages to find Elsa earlier, but now that he knew the route, he could _twist_ the shadows and… yes.  There he was, in their kitchen pantry.  He sighed in relief, touched his pocket with the sunglasses in it, checked the other pockets.  Gloves, wallet, money.  It was a ritual, and once he finished, he could relax.   

     Here, at home, in private, he could finally react.  Hernan walked over to the kitchen counter, near the coffee maker.  It was his favorite spot in the house, because of the memories they’d made together.  He leaned against the counter and scrubbed a hand over his face.  Too close.  Too fucking close.  When he’d seen that fucker with the gun pointed at Elsa…  He blew out a breath.

     Hernan hadn’t wanted to shoot the asshole, though he’d started to pull his own gun out.  No, he’d wanted his hands around the man’s throat, choking the fucker for daring to threaten his woman.  Watching Elsa grab that knife and leap, ah damn.  He smiled, chuckled.  She’d shocked him.  He’d thought her less bloodthirsty than he.  But she stood there, blood dripping from her knife, her face, and just looked like a warrior…he’d never wanted anyone more.  He’d never loved anyone more.

     Hernan ran a hand over his head.  Too close, though.  Too close to the edge.  He didn’t want that for her.  He didn’t want that for him, for fuck’s sake.  He was out.  He was legit.    

     Well.  Hernan smiled darkly.  He had one last thing to do.  Once he took care of Ferguson, then he’d leave it all behind.  For Elsa, and for the future he wanted with her. 


	11. Processing happens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hernan and Elsa talk about what happened.

      Elsa wobbled to the bathroom.  Her feet were still sore, as were her hands.  The docs were concerned about nerve damage, but she refused more drugs.  She was afraid of what they’d do to her powers.  She washed her face, dampened a washcloth, and hobbled back to bed to sit with the cloth on her forehead while she waited for the stupid hospital to agree she could go home.  The crying had given her a headache.

      Elsa felt like a stiff breeze could carry her off.  She collapsed into the bed, plucking at the stupid hospital gown and realizing she didn’t have clothes.  She thought about trying to reach Hernan, but it was just too much effort.  She closed her eyes for just a moment…

 

      Hernan pushed the hospital door open, carrying a bag and hoping he didn’t have to explain where it had come from.  He paused as he stepped past the bathroom door, seeing Elsa soundly asleep.  Even in her sleep, she was frowning slightly.  His heart constricted.  She didn’t grow up with this, he thought.  It was hitting her hard.  He sat down in the chair next to the bed and thought about how he could help her.  He hoped maybe the clothes would help.  He’d also called Victor, asked about the rest of her possessions.  The cops needed them to ID things, but supposedly they’d gladly release them if she signed for them. 

      Elsa whimpered in her sleep, and Hernan’s heart tore.  He didn’t want to wake her, but he couldn’t bear having her make that noise again.  He scooted closer, put a hand lightly over hers. 

      “Elsa,” he whispered, trying to connect, trying to send her love through their bond.  She twitched, thrashing, and he wrapped both hands around hers, focusing on her.  He caught flashes of her nightmare, felt the overwhelming fear, and tried to project himself there, protecting her, standing with her.  “I’m here, querida,” he said softly, lifting her hand to his lips. 

      Hernan felt her fingers twitching, could feel the echo of her distress, but could not break through to her.  He sighed in frustration and pressed the back of her hand against his cheek.  And then, suddenly, he knew what he could do.  He twisted into the shadows, and it worked.  He was in her nightmare, with her, and could stand against the monsters for her. 

      When Elsa woke up, she stared at Hernan in shock.  “You… What did you do?”

      “Nightmares are just shadows, querida,” he said with a smile.  “I may not be able to do it every time, but…”

      “You were in my dream.”  Elsa shook her head and laughed.  “You’re literally the man of my dreams, cariño.”

      Hernan kissed her forehead.  “Te amo, querida.”

 

      Elsa was released at last, and Hernan swept her off to a posh hotel room, where he insisted she rest while he did everything for her.  He ordered room service, and they cuddled together in bed eating off a fancy tray.  Elsa enjoyed it, but still found herself feeling adrift. 

      “You want to be home, don’t you?” Hernan said, after putting the empty dishes into the hall for pick up and hanging the “do not disturb” sign on the door.

      “I… I don’t know,” Elsa admitted.  “I can’t settle.”

      “The doctor said you should rest for a few days,” Hernan said, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t go for a walk, or a swim, or…”

      Elsa shook her head.  “I want my things back, then I can go home.”

      “I’m sorry the hospital wouldn’t let you out until after the people you needed to talk to were gone.”

      Elsa sighed.  “Me too.  Hold me, cariño, and maybe that will help.”

      “I thought you’d never ask,” Hernan said, crawling into bed with her.  She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped one arm around his waist.  He lightly stroked her arm and cuddled her close.  “Querida?”

      “Hmm?”

      “Talk to me,” he murmured, his voice that husky darkness she loved so much.  “I know you’re hurting.”

      “I…”  Elsa swallowed hard.  “Honestly?  What bothers me is how little it bothers me.”  She pushed herself up on her elbow, her other hand still resting on his chest.  “I killed a man.  That should mean something.  But…”

      “But all you feel is triumph because you’re alive and he’s not.”

      “Yes,” Elsa admitted.  “And that feels so wrong.”

      “Why is it wrong?  He wanted to hurt you, and you stopped him.”

      “It’s not that easy,” Elsa protested. 

      Hernan shifted his head to look at her more directly.  “Why not?”

      “I’m not supposed to…”

      “Supposed to?”

      Elsa pushed herself all the way up, shocked at the realization Hernan had helped her see.  “I know what I just thought was wrong,” she said softly.  “But I was thinking it on some level.”

      “Elsa?”  Hernan pushed himself up, giving her a little bit of space. 

      “I was literally going to say, ‘I’m not supposed to stop it.’”

      Hernan frowned.  “Jesus, Elsa.”

      “I know, I know,” she said.  “But I’m a girl.  I’ve grown up thinking I had to defer to other people, always.  And… well.”

      Hernan shook his head.  “You never have to defer to me.”  He grinned.  “Though I may add to our wedding vows that you’re not allowed to have knives in the bedroom.”

      Elsa blinked.  “Wedding vows?”

      Hernan looked away.  “I mean, someday, I was hoping…”

      “Hernan,” Elsa opened the bond between them so he could feel her delight, her surprise, her joy. 

      “Someday,” Hernan whispered.  And then in a more normal voice.  “For now, can you believe me that you did what you had to do to come home safe and whole?”

      “But… am I whole, cariño?  I feel so…”  Elsa gestured, unable to put the feeling into words.  She let him feel it, how she felt adrift, like she’d lost something she never knew she had, and how would she ever find it again?

      “You won, Elsa,” Hernan said, with inexorable logic.  “You didn’t lose anything.  You know, now, your worth, how priceless your life is.”  He paused.  “And you know what you’ll do to keep your life.  That’s power.”

      “Power,” Elsa mused.  She thought of the revelations Hernan had once shared, of Mariah, and shivered.  “Just… don’t let me abuse it.”

      “You’re not…”  Hernan swallowed, and Elsa felt the stab of grief.  But he continued.  “You’re not Mariah.”

      “No, but you said it yourself.  The first is the hardest.”

      “Heh.  Yeah, I said that a lot.  But there’s a difference, Elsa.  You fight, you killed, to protect.  And instead of plotting to kill again, you want revenge in a different way.”  Hernan spread his hands, palms up.  “You recognize that killing is easy, but making someone suffer, that’s revenge.”

      Elsa smiled and lifted her chin.  “Damn straight.  You’re going to make sure that he suffers, though, right?”

      Hernan smiled back, and it was a Shades smile.  “Of course.”


	12. Hernan gets Elsa help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa is ignoring the problem, so Hernan asks a friend for help

      They had to wait for some processing and approval from the chief, but Elsa was able to retrieve her phone and laptop eventually.  They got home, and Hernan started his search while Elsa tried to resume her life.  After a day or two, Hernan checked with Jeri to find out Elsa hadn’t told anyone anything.  She was back at work and everything was fine. 

      Hernan knew better.  He called Mae. 

      “Yo, Alvarez, what’s up?”  Mae had a feeling this wasn’t a social call.  “Everything ok?”

      “Nope, but it’s sensitive.  Can you get free?”

      Mae’s feeling intensified.  She glanced back at her crew with a thoughtful frown.  “One sec, Hernan.”  She literally put him on hold and went to talk to Deke, the senior on this job.  After verifying that he’d be ok, and he’d call if he needed her, she headed to her truck and its Bluetooth and privacy.  Taking Hernan off hold, she started the truck and waited.  “Talk to me.”

      “You know Josie’s?”

      “Duh, Shades.”

      Hernan chuckled.  “Text me when you’re there?  I need your help.”

      “You got it.”

      Mae hung up, per usual, and drove down to Hell’s Kitchen like her life depended on it.  Once she arrived, she texted Shades.  She was unsurprised to see him pop out of an alley nearby. 

      Hernan, for his part, had been pacing in and out of the shadows.  He was nervous and praying that Elsa wouldn’t hate him for what he was about to do.  But he’d seen it before, and he could not let Elsa bleed out, not if he could stop it.  Except she was blocking him out more and more, and he couldn’t reach her.  Maybe Mae could.

      When the text message blipped, he put his sunglasses on and strolled out of the shadow like nothing was wrong.  Mae waved from her truck and then hopped out.  Hernan couldn’t help a smile; they’d been friends forever.  He had long ago dropped the thought of Mae as anything but a friend, but he still appreciated the view.  She moved like a fighter and had no idea how sexy she was.  Thank god Frank had a clue.  Unlike Nate.  Hernan pushed the thought away.  He nodded, she nodded back, and they headed into Josie’s.

      Mae ordered a coke, and Hernan ordered a double.  Mae looked at him, both eyebrows raised.  “OK, that’s not like you.  Talk to me, Shades.”

      Hernan took the sunglasses off and rubbed his eyes.  “Elsa hasn’t talked to you since me and Frank went to lunch, has she?”

      Mae frowned, rolled her lips, and then pulled out her phone.  She flipped through it, looking at text messages, and then looked up at Hernan.  He could read her, so he could see the surprise in her face, though no one else would have noticed it.  She shook her head.  “I never noticed.  Been pretty crazy at work.  Shit.  What’s going on?”

      Hernan sighed, and didn’t even care that Mae could read him, too.  He knew she’d see how worried he was, how stressed, and maybe it’d make her take things seriously.  “Remember how you came to see me, to tell me about Perro?  And I knew, as soon as I saw you, what you’d been through?”

      “Yeah,” Mae said softly.  “You said like recognizes like.”

      “Yeah.”  Silence.  Hernan tossed the alcohol back and didn’t flinch.  He knew Mae would wait as long as it took.  He gathered his courage.  “Did Frank tell you about the PI?”

      “The one stalking Elsa?  Yeah, he mentioned it.  Wanted me to keep an ear to the ground, to see if we could find the guy’s hideout.”

      “Did you find it?”

      “Not yet, but I have three buildings I’m paying attention to.  Think he’s in one, maybe all three.” 

      “Give them to me later,” Hernan said.  “Because it’s too late to stop him, but we will pay him back for fucking with us.”

      Mae’s eyebrows shot up.  “Too late to stop what, Hernan.  Quit the fucking foreplay, now.”

      Hernan turned to face her.  “I failed, Mae.  I couldn’t stop the fuckers and they kidnapped Elsa and tortured her, and I couldn’t stop them!”

      The last was not a scream, but it echoed like one.  Mae swayed slightly, stunned to her core, and then she reached out, curled one hand around his forearm.  Her grip was too tight, but Hernan did not mind.  He knew what she was going to ask, and then Mae spoke, harshly, a whisper torn from her.  “Did they—”

      “No.  She killed him.”

      Mae thought she couldn’t be more stunned, but this… She couldn’t speak for a moment.  “Oh, god, Hernan.  Really?  Elsa?”

      For a moment, the darkness lifted, and Hernan’s proud expression made Mae revise her worries.  Hernan looked her in the eyes.  “She stabbed him in the neck and nearly cut his head clean off.”

      “Atta girl,” Mae whispered. 

      “Fuckin’ A.”

      “So…”

      “You know she knows every fucking lawyer from here to eternity.  So, she got a lawyer, got all the shit managed, came home and now she’s bleeding to death slowly because she won’t talk about it.”

      “Even to you?”

      “We talked the night after,” he said quietly.  “I thought it was going to be ok.  But then we got home and… She stopped.”

      Mae stared at Hernan like he had two heads.  “She doesn’t feel safe, you idiot.”

      He blinked at her.  “What?  But… I’ve been taking her to work, getting her so she doesn’t have to—”

      “Oh, god, Hernan, stop.”  Mae’s hand flexed, and Hernan ducked away, knowing she wanted to Gibbs smack him.  “You.”  Mae pointed at him, since he wouldn’t let her smack him.  “You are a well-meaning moron.  She needs to reclaim her space, her… Fuck.  Her everything.  You are not helping by being there all the fucking time.”  Mae paused, and the look of ‘oh shit,’ realization did not escape Hernan.  But he set it aside.  He could pester her about whatever she figured out later.  Mae continued.  “I need to talk to her.  But I also need to talk to Frank, because I’m betting Elsa needs physical things to reassure her that she’s okay.  That what she did is okay.”

      Hernan eyed her skeptically but nodded.  “I told her that.”

      “Okay, good start.  Next up, you start letting her do things on her own.  Get busy, you can’t take her to work all the time.  Let her do what she needs to do, even if she panics a little.”  Mae sighed and ordered a beer.  “Fuck.  I’ll call her or stop by later, try to get her to talk to me.”

      Hernan ordered another drink, too.  “Yeah.  Good luck.”

      Mae snorted.  But Hernan looked less stressed, despite the drink, and that was a positive.  They chatted idly about stuff, including Hernan’s desire to learn how to ice skate so he could propose to Elsa.  Mae thought it was the cutest thing ever and agreed to help.  By the time they went their separate ways, both felt better. 


	13. Elsa asks the wrong person for help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa goes to talk to Fisk.

       Meanwhile, after Hernan dropped her off at the office, Elsa did some paperwork and then at 10am, went to Jeri and requested the rest of the day off.  Jeri was willing, if a bit surprised.  Elsa was not prone to such requests.  But, Jeri had no issues, and so Elsa walked out of the building, caught a taxi, and headed for Rikers.

        Elsa had already sent a message to Fisk, requesting a meeting.  It was no difficulty to be polite, and while Elsa knew Fisk was protective of her because of Vanessa, she also wanted to have a good relationship with him on her own.  Fisk had agreed to her request, and told her she was always welcome, anytime. 

       Elsa stared out the window of the cab and pondered what she was about to do.  She should have talked to Hernan.  She should have talked to Mae.  But she needed to know that once they caught Geoff, he was never going to see the light of day again.  Elsa still had a slight limp from nerve damage.  Doctors said it may go away, it may not.  And that was enough to steel her resolve.

       She arrived just after noon.  She had a small cooler bag with her, that had a cheese and fruit mix she was hoping wasn’t presumptuous.  Vanessa had told her Fisk missed a few of his luxuries, one of which was alcohol.  She had two tiny bottles of rosé in with some cheeses, grapes, and crackers.  All the cheeses were wine-soaked or otherwise laced with alcohol (in case the guards actually searched the bag and removed the booze), and she hoped that it would help endear her to him. 

       Elsa was escorted through as soon as she arrived.  They didn’t even search her bags.  She was amused, but not surprised; it was why she’d taken the risk.  She set the cooler bag down and began setting out the hors d’oeuvres.  The guards brought Fisk in while she was still laying things out. 

       “Ms. Korre, you are too kind,” Fisk said, greeting her warmly.  He reached out for her hands but rather than grabbing for hers, simply held his hands extended, palm up and waited for her to accept.  She did, and even squeezed his hands and kissed him on the cheek.

       “I still speak to Vanessa,” Elsa said.  “She told me you missed good food, so I was hoping that I could help.”

       “I am humbled by your generosity,” Fisk said.  “Please, sit.”

       Elsa sat, and shared some of the things that Vanessa had written to her with Fisk, knowing the other man missed his fiancée horribly.  After a while, they simply sat in silence and ate, once Elsa ran out of words.  She did not try to fill the silence, knowing Fisk did not mind.  Finally, he wiped his mouth with the napkin and looked at her for a long moment.  Elsa met his gaze.

       “The last time I saw you, you could not have met my gaze this way.  Are you well, Ms. Korre?”

       “Please, Mr. Fisk, call me Elsa.  We both love Vanessa and value her.  We can be familiar, if you wish.”

       “Then you must call me Wilson,” Fisk agreed.

       “I have a problem I am hoping that you can help with, but I also bring a possible solution for a problem.”  Elsa glanced around.  “May we speak freely here?”

       Fisk smiled.  “Of course.  I would not have you compromised.”

       “Thank you, Wilson.”  Fisk nodded regally.  Elsa squared her shoulders and faced him directly.  “Vanessa told me that you have hidden accounts but are having difficulty accessing the money because your own are monitored.”  Fisk nodded.  “I have a friend who is very good with money, and I believe we could work out a deal to give you access to the funds.  Through real estate.  Your money would be legitimized, and we could make a profit.” 

       Fisk lifted his chin and tilted his head, considering.  “Where is the startup money coming from?”

       “I have a very successful career,” Elsa said with a smile.  “A very legitimate career.  My bank account is full.  My home is paid off.  I am happy to assist with the startup costs, and all you would have to do is match my investment.”

       “What kind of property are you looking at?”

       “There are places in New York City and the surrounding state that are going to be exploding in value.  We can get in on the ground floor in several areas…”  Elsa leaned in, sharing the things she’d researched.  She actually was excited about this, even if it was going to drag her into the world Shades was hoping to escape.  She thought he’d come around, though.  She outlined her thoughts and was pleased when Fisk nodded in agreement and even questioned her on a few things.  She finished her pitch, and Fisk leaned back a bit.

       “You have given this a great deal of thought.”

       “I have.  Vanessa could help, as well, and this could be a way for her to come home safely.”

       “No, she cannot come home,” Fisk said.  “I need her to stay safe.”

       Elsa nodded.  “Of course.  I thought having her name on things would help her access the funds, that’s all.”

       Fisk agreed, then pierced her with a look again.  “What would you have of me, Elsa?  I am assuming this offer is not without some kind of compensation for you?”

       “I want three things, and I am hoping they are not too much, given what I am offering.”  Fisk gestured for her to continue.  “I want safety for myself and Hernan Alvarez.  I want Hernan to be the lead on the business.  He’s brilliant and will manage it well.  Plus, he’s ruthless and I am quite certain he’ll take care of any issues that pop up.”  Elsa took a breath.  “And finally, when we get the man that kidnapped me, once he’s here, I want to make sure that he receives the kind of welcome he deserves.”

       Fisk’s nostrils flared, the only sign of his sudden anger.  But Elsa felt it.  She hadn’t realized he liked her that much—she’d thought he simply cared for her as a friend of Vanessa’s.  But no, he was fond of her, and that she’d been hurt… She realized he had fisted his hands.  And then he spoke, his voice a careful monotone.  “Were you harmed?”

       Elsa met his eyes for a moment, then lowered her gaze to the table.  “I was drugged, stuffed into a bag, and given to the hands of an unhinged, obsessed man.”  Elsa laced her fingers together and squeezed, trying to steady herself.  “I killed him.  But the man that started it all, the kidnapper, he’s still out there.  We know who he is.  We will find him.  But I need your help to make sure he dies a thousand deaths before the end.”

       Fisk uncurled one of his hands, rested it lightly on her laced fingers, and then removed it just as quickly.  “May I have his name?”

       “Geoff Ferguson,” Elsa replied.

       “I will have my contacts pass all information on him to you.  And, once you have him, we will ensure that comes here.  I will welcome him.  This, I promise you.”

       The smile that crossed Elsa’s face was bloodthirsty.  “Thank you, Wilson.”

       Fisk nodded slowly.  “You are most welcome, Elsa.  Thank you so much for the lunch.  It is a luxury I cannot ever repay you for.”

       “I am very happy to help.”  Elsa stood up, allowed Fisk to escort her to the door.

       “I shall consider your business proposal.  Expect to hear from my people soon.”

       “Of course,” Elsa said.  She took his hands and squeezed them, and he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

       “Thank you for news of Vanessa,” Fisk added, the reserved mask slipping for a moment.  He missed the other woman badly. 

       “She misses you, Wilson,” Elsa said softly.  “I hope that you can be reunited soon.”

       “As do I,” Fisk replied.  “Thank you again, my dear.”

       Elsa left, feeling oddly better about everything.  On the cab ride home, she gazed out the window and smiled. 


	14. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mae comes to yell at Elsa, and then she spills everything.

        Elsa was completely startled when Hernan texted her that he wouldn’t be able to get her after work.  Frowning, she texted back asking if everything was ok.  He said he was busy, and Elsa replied that it was fine, she was already home.  She expected him to come roaring out of the pantry to ask if she was ok, but instead she got a text saying “k, good deal, see you later.”

        Elsa immediately started worrying.  But then about an hour later, a knock at her door startled her.  She started to reach for a weapon, then reached out with her power, a light touch, instantly recognized.  It was just Mae.  Elsa’s relief had her knees weak.  Then she frowned.  Hernan’s off somewhere and Mae shows up?  She smelled a conspiracy.

        Elsa opened the door and leaned against it.  “Hi, fancy meeting you here.”

        “You should have called me,” Mae said, flatly.

        Elsa sighed.  “Come on in.”

        Mae strode in, then turned, arms akimbo.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

        “Because I was handling things,” Elsa said, strolling into the kitchen.  “Coffee?”

        “Sure,” Mae said, following her.  Elsa could feel the wary confusion in her friend.  Mae folded her arms as Elsa started the coffee, then spoke.  “If you’re so okay with everything, why are you freezing Shades out?”

        “I’m just trying to give him some privacy,” Elsa said.

        “Bullshit,” Mae responded, unfolding her arms and stepping closer to Elsa.  “Don’t lie to me.  What the fuck, Elsa?”

        Elsa stood between her friend and the coffee maker, her face turned away from Mae, watching the coffee burble.  “What happened to me wasn’t nearly as bad as what you went through,” she said softly.  “I’ll be fine.”

        Mae deflated slightly.  “Elsa…  This isn’t the fucking pain Olympics.  Don’t do that shit.  Talk to me.”

        Elsa turned back to Mae, looking frustrated.  “And tell you what?  That the fucking PI stuffed me into a bag and passed me off to that goddamn lawyer like I was a piece of cargo?  That whatever the PI doped me with made me so head blind it took weeks for my powers to normalize?  That I killed a man and stood over his dead body and thought this is what should happen to anyone that tries to fuck with me and Hernan?”  Elsa laughed bitterly.  “I barely know myself, now.  I don’t know what to tell you, Mae.”

        “You’re still you,” Mae said softly.  Elsa could feel her friend touching memories that Elsa never wanted to inflict on her, ever again. 

        “Mae, don’t.  Don’t go back there for me.”

        “El, you’re my friend.  No, you’re like family.  If you’re bleeding, I’m bleeding.  So, stop babying me.  I know, I’ve been there done that too.  TALK. TO. ME.”

        “I CAN’T!  Okay?  I literally don’t know what to say.” 

        Mae took her hand.  “What.  Happened.  Start there.”

        “The PI drugged me.  When I was incapacitated, he shoved me into his car and dragged me off to some random place.  I don’t remember the place, because I was out cold.  But they tied me up, shoved me into a bag, and then tossed me on an airplane.”  Elsa swallowed hard.  “I don’t know what the PI did to me while I was out, before or while he was tying me up.”  She took a deep breath.  “But when I woke up, on the plane, I couldn’t move.  I couldn’t feel my hands or feet.  I could barely breathe.”   Elsa gestured to the nearby pantry, pulling her hand free gently.  “I can’t go in there, any more.  It’s too close, too tight.  Some mornings, even the shower is too small.” 

        Elsa paced away from Mae, rubbing her arms.  Mae took a step closer, then stopped and waited quietly.  Elsa stood near the breakfast nook, staring out the window.  Her voice was barely loud enough for Mae to hear, and yet Mae felt every word. 

        “Some nights, it’s too dark.  I get up and sit by the window, let the street lights remind me I’m not trapped.  Hernan taking me into the shadows…”  Elsa laughed bitterly.  “Oh, shit, did we tell you about that?”

        “Hernan…taking you into the shadows?”  Mae frowned.  “I don’t think so?”  Elsa filled her in on Hernan’s new powers.  Mae looked contemplative.  “Okay, that’s definitely interesting.”

        “Yeah, you could say that,” Elsa said dryly. 

        “So, you fucked him to superpowers?”

        Elsa stared at Mae, then started laughing.  She shook with it, clinging to the nook’s table until she finally just sat down, laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe.  Mae joined her at the table, smiling but recognizing the hysteria for what it was.   Elsa finally managed to breathe again, and tried to speak, giggling and breathless.  “I never.  Thought of it.  That way.”  She cackled.  “Ohmigod.  Mae.”

        “Well, I mean, you said you felt him during sex, and then poof.  He’s walking around in shadowland.”  Mae shrugged.  “What was I supposed to think?”

        Elsa made a ‘whew’ noise and got up to pour the coffee.  She pushed Mae’s over to her and then sat back down.  “Only you, Mae,” Elsa said fondly, and saluted Mae with her coffee mug.

        Mae grinned, returned the salute, and then got serious again.  “So, you’re having issues when he does this trick with you?”

        “I usually close my eyes until he gets where we’re going,” Elsa admitted.  “Otherwise, I feel like I’m back in the bag.”

        “You have PTSD, sounds like.  You should see someone.”

        “Oh, you mean like you did?” Elsa said sharply.

        “You’re smarter than I am, Elsa.  Be smarter,” Mae said, stung. 

        “I’m fine.”

        “Bullshit.”  Mae gestured at Elsa with her coffee mug.  “You were never afraid of the dark before.  You definitely weren’t claustrophobic before.”

        Elsa shook her head, firmly.  “I’m not going to babble on at some shrink for an hour.  That’s just wasting time.  Besides, I’ll need to take some distant jobs again—”

        Hernan stepped out of the pantry. “No.”

        Elsa startled.  She hadn’t felt Hernan.  That… how locked down was she?  What was she doing to them?  The realization of how locked in her own head she’d become took her breath away.  Like nothing else, it brought home to her that she wasn’t dealing with anything.  She managed to breathe, but the air intake was a gasp.  Mae took one look at Elsa’s face and turned to glare at Hernan.

        “God dammit, Shades, have you been listening this whole time?  This,” Mae waved a hand, “thing you do?  It lets you hide and listen?”

        “Yeah,” Hernan admitted, looking a bit abashed.  “I just… You can’t go, Elsa.  You can’t do this again.”

        “The likelihood of something like this happening again is less than nil.”  Elsa looked a bit guilty, glancing at Mae, then stood up and faced Hernan.  “I talked to Fisk today.”

        Whatever they were expecting her to say, it wasn’t that.  Mae looked stunned, then frowned thoughtfully.  Hernan just looked gobsmacked. 

        “Fisk?  Why?” Hernan said.

        “I wanted to get his help.”

        “Elsa, no,” Hernan said, stepping closer and taking her hand.  “Fisk isn’t going to help without conditions.”

        “I know,” Elsa said, slightly annoyed. 

        “Shit, Elsa, you had a deal, didn’t you?”  Mae stood, now, and put her hands on her hips.  “What did you do?”

        “I’m still friends with Vanessa.  She’s been telling me what’s been going on.  I thought I could help, so I went and talked to Wilson.  He thought my ideas were solid.”

        Hernan was pale.  Mae stepped closer to him, giving him her support.  “Baby,” Hernan grated.  “What did you do?”

        “It’s a legitimate business offer!”  Elsa was slightly offended that they’d think she’d risk them in any way.  “It’s just… I know.  It’s Fisk.”  Elsa shrugged.  “I need his help, so I came up with an idea.  I offered you, Hernan.  As a business manager for a house flipping business.  I know you can do it, and with my money and Fisk’s, we can be profitable.  And legit.”

        Hernan frowned.  Mae glanced at him, then back at Elsa.  “I don’t wanna know,” she declared.  “You,” she pointed at Elsa.  “We are not done.  But you and Hernan need to talk, and the less I know the better.”  Mae pinched the bridge of her nose.  “And I’ll say this, Fisk has rules, too.  I guess I’d trust him, to a certain extent.  Just.  Be careful, both of you.”

        Elsa walked over and hugged Mae.  “Thank you.  Let’s do lunch, or a girl’s night or something.”

        “Ok.”  Mae eyed Elsa, and Elsa got the message.  She opened the channel between them.  _Don’t be stupid, dammit.  Don’t wreck this.  You two are good for each other._

        Elsa couldn’t help her grin.  _I’m not going to wreck it.  I promise._

        Mae looked skeptical but nodded.  She grabbed her keys.  “Be good, you two.”

        Hernan nodded.  Mae left, and Hernan walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee.  He sipped and stared at Elsa.  She sat down by her coffee cup and sighed. 

        “I didn’t realize how much I’d shut down.”

        “You’ve been closed off since that first night back here,” Hernan said.  He walked over to the nook, sat down across from Elsa where Mae had been a moment ago.  “You shut me out.”

        “I’m sorry.”  Elsa started to reach for him with her powers and flinched. “I don’t know why, but…”

        “Querida, please,” Hernan whispered, reaching for her hands.  He reminded her of Fisk, the way he reached part way across the table and then waited for her to reach back.

        “I’m sorry,” Elsa said, meeting him half-way and clasping his hands.

        “I got so used to having you in my head.  Every time I’d go into the shadows and not feel you, it was like that day all over again.”

        Elsa squeezed his hands and tried again, reaching for his mind, his emotions.  She finally connected, and felt his grief, his feeling of failure, his worries, and most of all his blinding terror that she was pulling away from him forever.  She felt tears pricking at her eyes, and shook her head, wordlessly reassuring him through her empathy.  She wasn’t going to leave, but she feared she was too much.  That she needed him too much or was asking too much. 

        Hernan stood, crossed to her side of the table, and pulled her up into his arms.  He kissed her, and she felt him thinking he needed her, too.  He wasn’t going anywhere.  He released her, and she wrapped her arms around him, cuddling against his shoulder. 

        “I’m sorry,” Elsa murmured.  “I should have talked to you before going to Fisk.”

        “I wish you had,” Hernan said, “but like Mae said, Fisk follows the rules.  I think we could work with him.”

        “The business is legitimate,” Elsa said.

        Hernan laughed.  “Don’t lie to yourself, Elsa.  It will be ‘legitimate’ on the surface, but you know as well as I do there will be things under the table.”

        “Not drugs.”

        “No?”

        “No.  I told Vanessa.  I want to help them but not that side of things,” Elsa said firmly.

        Hernan stroked her back, feathery touches that sent goosebumps down her arms.  “Well, that’s good.  That would mean less worry about one of the crews interfering.”

        “You’ll do it?”

        Hernan smiled.  “You went to Fisk.”

        “Yeah.”

        “I owe him.  He watched out for me while I was in.”  Hernan looked down at her, frowning.  “But are you sure, Elsa?  Once you’re in, it’s tough to get out.”

        “I’ve been in.  I just didn’t realize it.”  Elsa opened to Hernan, struggling a bit, but needing him to see.  He felt her fear, her reluctance, and then the things that had pushed her to this: her desire for him to be happy, her awareness of how the delivery thing was wearing on him, her hopes that this would stay mostly legit, her desire, buried deep, for a family, and her belief that they could conquer anything together. 

        Hernan kissed her, and projected to her that he believed, too.  Together, they’d overcome any obstacle. 


	15. Meetings and meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa has to deal with the FBI, but first Misty comes calling again.

        The next day while she was reading over work proposals, Elsa got a call from the FBI.  They wanted information about the kidnapper.  Elsa rubbed her forehead and agreed to a meeting later that day, then tried to think if she knew any federal lawyers.  She couldn’t think of any, so she wandered over to Jeri’s office.

        “Jeri?”  Elsa tapped on the door frame since the door was open, and Jeri was frowning at a piece of paper. 

        “Elsa.”  Jeri set the paper aside and turned her rather grim expression to Elsa. 

        “Trouble?” 

        “Another cease and desist from Chao.  I don’t know why she refuses to give up, but…”  Jeri shook her head.  “I’m going to end up taking her out completely if she doesn’t stop.”

        “Do it.  Sometimes you have to prove exactly how far you’ll go before people stop testing you.”

        Jeri leaned back in her chair.  “Unexpected advice from you,” she murmured.  “I’ve had several calls, warning me about you.  Should I be worried?”

        “Warnings?  About me?  For what?”

        “So, you’re not involved with Shades Alvarez?  Or Vanessa Mariana, fiancée of Wilson Fisk?”

        “You know that I am, Jeri.  Hell, you helped Hernan.  Why are you asking about all this now?”

        Jeri sighed and gestured to the chair across from her.  “The FBI called me.  They say you were kidnapped, and yet you didn’t say a word.”

        “I called in, said I was taking some personal time.  I took time off the other day.  I’m okay.”

        “Goddammit, Elsa, don’t you remember yelling at me that we were friends?  And yet you kept this from me.  Is it because of Alvarez?  Or Fisk?”

        “No.  No, Jeri.  It was Colorado.  That background check I asked for.”

        Jeri frowned.  “The lawyer with all the stupid harassing calls?  Kesh—no, Kisson, right?”

        “Yes.” 

        Jeri leaned forward on her desk, staring at Elsa hard.  Elsa was not intimidated; she’d worked with Jeri too long for that.  But something in the woman’s emotions caught Elsa’s attention.  She opened her powers just a little, waiting for Jeri to speak again.  Finally, Jeri laced her fingers together and cleared her throat.  “They told me he’s dead.”

        “Yes.”  Elsa replied.  Jeri felt…oddly triumphant?  Elsa frowned.  That was not what she’d expected.  Had Jeri…?  Elsa wanted, so badly, to dig into Jeri’s mind.  But honor kept her from it. 

        “So, there’s no link between you shacking up with Shades and killing a man.”

        “You’re kidding, right?  Correlation is not causation, Jeri.  I killed a man who paid someone to kidnap me, tied me up and stuffed me into a duffel bag, and was going to do god only knows what to me.”

        “I just… I’ve taken a lot of heat for the Jones defense, and now the FBI is calling.”

        “Yes.  The FBI is calling because the kidnapper took me to Colorado.  You’re going to blame me for getting kidnapped?”

        “No.”  Jeri looked offended, and then sighed and rubbed her forehead.

        “What’s really going on, Jeri?”

        “I’ve had three clients drop me.  We’re riding on Rand and fumes.  My ‘sympathy’ for enhanced people is apparently a bug, not a feature, when it comes to certain clients.”

        “Fuck them.  Advertise.  Play on the revenge angle.  Lean in to your strengths.  Come on, Jeri, you’re better than this.”

        “I have ALS.”  Jeri said it baldly, blankly.  Her emotions were locked down, and yet Elsa could feel them squeezing out: fear, rage, helplessness.  Jeri went on.  “Chao’s been telling tales.  Clients are worried about a ‘cripple’ lawyer.”

        Elsa could not have been more stunned.  She hadn’t pried, she had trusted to decades of friendship, and here it was.  “Oh.  Oh, Jeri.  Shit, Jeri.”

        “Jessica didn’t tell you?  Well, small favors.  But yes.  I don’t know how long it’ll take to kill me, but I have an expiration date now.”  Jeri’s emotions continued bubbling, tangled fury and sadness and a bitter bright thread of frustration.  “I am not showing symptoms yet, but it’s inevitable.  I hand-picked the crew to come with me because I wanted them to be my legacy.  And now we’re having issues.  And you, Elsa.  You’re not a lawyer.  You’re—”

        “Disposable.”

        “No.  Never.  You’ve helped immeasurably.  But you aren’t guaranteed a future here.  You need to create your own company.”

        “I attached myself to you, Jeri.  I didn’t want to have to do the business bullshit.  And you have all that, established and working.  And now you’re freezing me out?”

        “I’m not.  But I don’t know how long I have.”

        “Jeri.”  Elsa realized Jeri was trying to look out for her.  Was afraid that she’d die and Marcie or Foggy or Chas or whoever else Elsa didn’t know would take over and drive her off.  The odd mix of anger and kindness—so typically Jeri—made Elsa sad all over again.  “Jeri, most of the people you hired love me.  They work with me.  I get where you’re coming from, but no.”

        “Very well,” Jeri said, clearing her throat, and internally stuffing her emotions back into a box.  Elsa always admired and worried about her doing that.  Jeri straightened her shoulders and looked Elsa in the eyes.  And just like that, her Jeri-mask was firmly back in place.  “You’ll have a place here as long as I live.  And I’ll start putting Marcie or Hunter out as the face of the firm. They’re young and healthy.”

        “And sexy,” Elsa said wryly.  Jeri chuckled and nodded.  “Alright, good.  And thank you, Jeri.  Now, do you know any federal lawyers who would sit with me while the FBI questions me?”

        “Paranoid, as ever,” Jeri smiled.  “I always liked that about you.”

        “Power corrupts,” Elsa replied.

        “And yet, you seem to be doing fine.”

        Elsa thought of blood and knife catching on bone and how thick and heavy the liquid had been in her pants legs and swallowed hard.  She shook her head.  “I’m being interviewed by the FBI soon,” she said dryly.  “That’s hardly fine.”

        “You don’t need a federal lawyer for this,” Jeri said.  “It’s a witness statement.  Take Foggy, he is very good at spotting traps in contracts; and he’ll watch out for you and advise you if you’re saying too much.  Not that that’s ever a problem you have.  Still.  Better to be safe.”

        Elsa nodded.  “He’s free?”

        “He doesn’t have anything on the court docket today.  He can do paperwork later, and he needs to start delegating to his aides better.  They’re getting lazy,” Jeri picked up the paper she’d been glaring at earlier and then glanced up at Elsa.  “Was there anything else?”

        “I might need a real estate lawyer soon.  Got any recommendations?”

        “Commercial or residential?”

        “Residential.”

        “Olivet and Smith are the best, but they’ll be expensive.  Gundwire is fabulous, creative, but young.  If you’re willing to take the chance, I’d recommend her.”

        “Thanks, Jeri.”  Elsa got up to leave, caught the flash of curiosity from Jeri, and headed for the door, smiling.  As expected…

        “Why are you looking for a residential real estate lawyer, Elsa?”

        “Hernan’s starting a house flipping business.”

        “He’s…  Well, congratulate him for me.”

        “Will do,” Elsa said.  “And Jeri?”  She turned, stopping in the doorway.  “Don’t be stupid.  If you need help, ask.”

        Jeri chuckled.  “You’ve said that before.”

        “Yeah, and you never listen.  I know where you live.  Don’t make me start checking in on you.”  Jeri shook her head, but Elsa could feel her emotions, and the happiness that Jeri was feeling at her declaration.  It was enough.  “You need something, you let me know, even if it’s just company when you have to sit through stupid doctor crap.”

        “Okay, Elsa.  I’ll let you know.  Go, don’t keep the FBI waiting.”

        Elsa grinned and waved, before heading downstairs to Foggy’s office.  She told him about the meeting, asked him to find a conference room for it and then went back up to her office to prepare.  She was not expecting any other interruptions, but Misty Knight had other ideas.

        Elsa managed to sit down and glance at paperwork before the knock interrupted her train of thought.  “Come in,” she said, thinking it was Foggy.  Instead, Misty opened the door and paused just inside the doorway.  Just seeing her made Elsa angry all over again as she thought of Janis spitting in Hernan’s face.  Elsa frowned.  “Detective Knight.”

        “Is that how’s it going to be?” Misty replied. 

        “Give me a reason for it not to be, and I’ll consider it.”

        Misty made a ‘huh’ noise, and then closed the door behind her and walked over to the chairs.  She put her hand on the back of one and leaned over a little.  “I heard the FBI is going to be talking to you about a murder.”

        “Kidnapping, actually,” Elsa replied, lifting her chin and meeting Misty’s eyes easily.  “As I was the victim, it’s just a statement.”

        “And yet, a man is dead.”

        Elsa knew she shouldn’t rise to the bait.  She shouldn’t get angry.  But there it was, again: Misty as an adversary.  She always put herself across the table.  Elsa wanted to punch Misty; why couldn’t the other woman just be a friend instead of a cop?  She stood up, leaned on her desk.  “A man who paid for me to be shipped to him like baggage.  Who held a gun on me and threatened my life.”  The burst of emotion from Misty when she said that was unexpected.  Elsa made note of that and continued.  “Who took me from everything and everyone that matters to me.  The police there were pretty sanguine about it being self-defense.” 

        “Maybe they don’t know about the murderer you’re shacking up with.”

        Elsa was so tired of defending Hernan.  She was so tired of everyone, right now.  She sat down, leaned back in her chair, and glared at Misty.  “Funny how Luke gets the benefit of the doubt, but Hernan doesn’t.”

        “He killed Candace.”

        “Yeah, he did.”

        Misty spluttered.  “You don’t care?  That he’s a murderer?”

        “He saved my life.  Do I care that he killed people?  Yes, Misty, I care.  I am sad that he was so deeply in love with another woman that he murdered for her.  But those are the rules he grew up with.  The streets have their own logic, and Hernan bought into it.”  Elsa could have said so much more, but she was slowly feeling Misty out.  Misty was mad, was looking for a fight.  Why?

        Misty huffed again and stared out Elsa’s window before looking back at her.  “So that’s it.  It doesn’t matter to you that he attacked me and Claire, that he killed an innocent girl—”

        “She wasn’t innocent, Misty.  She agreed to help Mariah frame Luke.  If he hadn’t saved her, she probably would have taken the money and never said a word.”

        “Goddammit, Elsa.  She was innocent.  There was no blood on her hands!”

        “Wasn’t there?”  Elsa leaned forward.  “You’re telling me you—and the system—wouldn’t have crucified Luke for killing Cottonmouth and that cop if she hadn’t recanted?  For that matter, if you hadn’t heard directly from her that she was lying, would you have believed Claire or anyone else who said Luke was innocent?”

        “That’s different.”

        “Really?”  Elsa said flatly. 

        “Shades admitted to everything.  Confessed.  Himself!”

        “To help you catch someone who was unhinged.”

        “To protect his own ass,” Misty said sarcastically.

        Elsa scoffed.  “You think?  You really think he couldn’t have protected himself from Mariah?  He did just fine when she tried to kill him from prison.”  Elsa felt Misty’s shock, then her anger.  She wasn’t hearing anything, she was just lashing out.  Elsa tipped her head to one side and spoke softly.  “Why are you really here, Misty?  You aren’t after Shades, you can’t touch him.  Jeri saw to that.  And you know I was the victim of a kidnapping, not the criminal.  So what do you really want?”

        “I want you to see that Shades Alvarez is bad news.  He attacked me.  What makes you think he won’t hit you?”

        “Oh my god, seriously?  Maybe the fact that I’m not trying to kill him?” Elsa replied sarcastically.  “Jesus, Misty.  You know he apologized to Claire, right?  He’d probably apologize to you if you’d stop riding his ass.  He’s trying to go legit.  He’s starting a business, he pays his fucking taxes.  What more does he have to do?”

        “Leopards like him don’t change their spots—”

        “Bullshit.”  Elsa stood up again, so furious she couldn’t see straight.  “That’s the problem with your system, Misty.  You see criminals, not people.  Someone gets thrown into jail and you don’t ever see them as anything but perps you have to arrest again and again.  Oh, and while you’re at it, the entire fucking system keeps putting them back in that box.  ‘Check here if you’re a felon.’  Well, we can’t hire someone like _that_ so file 13 that application and what the fuck are they supposed to do?  But that doesn’t matter, does it?  Dude did some bad shit, so he’s bad.  Period.  Forever.”

        “What fucking circumstance was pushing Shades into murder?  Into stealing my phone and killing Candace?  Huh?”

        “He did it to protect Mariah, as you know.  He loved her.”

        “Bullshit.  That man is not capable of love.”  It echoed in the silence, those words Misty spat.  Elsa went cold. 

        “Get out.”

        “Oh, you did not—”

        “Leave, Misty, or I will have you escorted out.”  Elsa walked around her desk, went to the door and opened it.  “I’m done with this argument, and I’m done with you.”

        “You are not—”

        “I am not joking.”  Elsa lifted her cell phone.  “Five seconds, and I call security.”

        “You cannot throw a cop out—”

        “Are you here with a warrant?”

        “Fine.  Fine.”  Misty stalked over to Elsa and got in her face.  “I hope he’s worth it.  Because I will not save your ass.”

        Elsa waited until Misty walked out the door, then she spoke, her voice tight with fury but soft.  “That’s the thing, Misty.  I don’t need you to save me.”

        Elsa closed the door and paced back to her desk, so far past furious she was numb.  She felt Hernan pausing in the shadows, sensing her fury and wondering what was wrong and who he needed to cut, and shook her head.  _Not now, cariño._

        Elsa’s rage carried her to and through the interview with the FBI.  Once she met the two agents that had been sent, she felt stupid for having worried about it at all.   The one was so new he smelled of it, and the other was clearly checked out.  They might have sent agents, but this wasn’t a priority to the powers that be.  She answered questions, gave her statement, filled out forms after Foggy read them, and then agreed that she’d sign a statement they sent once they wrote it up.  The agents left, and she looked over at Foggy.  He looked as annoyed as she felt. 

        “That was a waste,” he muttered.

        “Thanks for sitting with me, Foggy.  I think I’d have committed seppuku without you there.”

        “Elsa, you were kidnapped.  Why didn’t you call me, or Matt, or somebody?”

        “It just happened, Foggy.  I’ve been trying to recover.”  Elsa looked away, and she knew he didn’t buy it for a second.  And he just wanted to help.  She sighed, turned back to him and took his hand.  “Look, Foggy…”  She tried to think how to say it, and he leaped right onto the wrong conclusion.

        “You’re not one of those vigilantes, are you?”

        “Oh, god, no, Foggy.  I wouldn’t know where to begin with that stuff.”  Elsa patted his hand, feeling his panic and then his relief.  She loved how he just believed she’d tell him the truth; his trust in his friends never failed to make her love him more.  “No, I was trying to say ‘thank you’ because you’re such a good friend, and of course I’d call you for help if I needed it, and also I’m just not able to deal with it yet.”  Elsa sighed.  “I needed some time and space, and not people going ‘ohmigod, you poor thing.’  I’ll deal with it when I can.”

        “I actually believe you,” Foggy said, “because you’re one of the few people I know who actually deals with your shit.  But seriously, don’t close off from those of us who care, ok?”

        “Of course,” Elsa said.  She hugged him and kissed his cheek.  “I’m not a total idiot.”

        Foggy returned the hug and then headed back to his office.  Elsa thought about Misty Knight again and wanted to bite something.  She headed back up to her office, intending to finish her paperwork and work a bit late to make up for the time she spent at the meeting.  But as she stepped into the room, she felt Hernan enter the shadows, as angry as she had been earlier. 

_Cariño?_ Elsa thought, reaching out to him. 

_Shadows.  Come to a shadow, so I can reach you, querida._

        Elsa looked around, and finally moved some chairs so she could duck under the round table in her office.  Sitting there, she was unsurprised when Hernan touched her, pulled her into the shadows with him.  She swallowed hard, and closed her eyes, leaning into his warmth.  As usual, her powers were stronger in contact with him.  Hernan didn’t even try to put what happened into words.  He just thought about it and let her pull it from his mind.

        Fisk’s people had come to talk to him, and brought information about Geoff Ferguson, PI.  He had recently moved to Harlem.  Scuttlebutt was that he’d found out Shades was after him, somehow, and went where he knew Hernan was not welcome. 

        Elsa stroked Hernan’s chest gently, rested her head against his heart.  _I can go.  And you can shadow me.  As long as Luke doesn’t see you, it’s fine._

_No.  What if he attacks you again?_   Hernan’s fear that he wouldn’t be able to protect her made her poke him with a finger.

_I can protect myself.  But also, if we go at night, you can be there, unseen.  Everywhere._

        Shades agreed and began contemplating how much fun it might be to drag Ferguson into the shadows and just leave him.  Elsa cupped his cheek, chuckling.  The darkness didn’t bother her when he thought about it like that, when she knew it was alive and working to protect her. 

        Elsa kissed him lightly, and thought, _so, tonight?  I will never forget his mind.  And I can find him, and then you can take him._

_Querida, I love the way you think._

        Elsa chuckled, pleased, and sent to Hernan that she would like to get her things from her office and go home.  He was more than happy to help. 


	16. a reckoning at last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa and Hernan catch the PI that kidnapped her.

            The rest of the evening was a bit surreal, to Elsa.  They cooked together, had dinner, and then they began preparing to go hunting a kidnapper.  Her kidnapper.  Her stomach was doing flips, and butterflies were riverdancing.  She dressed carefully, in dark clothes, and tied her hair back.  She thought about Hernan’s idea, to use her powers to incapacitate or harm, and decided if given the chance, she’d try it. 

            And then she was tucking ID and money into a pocket, her phone into another, and heading out the door.  Hernan was in a Shades suit and had black gloves in his pockets.  He kissed her hard, and she felt the love/pride/worry that was driving him.  She grinned at him impishly.  “Harlem, Jeeves.”

            Hernan laughed, kissed her again, and swept them into the dark.

 

            Elsa peered around before she left the shadows.  Hernan held the opening for her, making sure that the alley was empty.  And then Elsa was alone, strolling to the sidewalk.  Hernan had brought her three blocks from the address Fisk’s people had given him.  But as soon as she sent her feelers out, she felt the creep.  A stab of fear, and then she felt Hernan’s sharpened attention, his closeness even in the shadows.  He was there.  If the bond faltered, he’d be there in the flesh, no matter what Luke Cage said. 

            She turned and walked towards the creeper, resolute.  She could feel Hernan pacing her.  The closer she got, the calmer she got.  Finally, she stopped in front of his building, staring up at the third floor.  She went to the front door, to find it locked.  Hernan pushed it open from shadows inside, and Elsa headed for the stairs.  She noticed, as she climbed, that Hernan was behind her, wearing the black gloves. 

_Don’t kill him,_ she cautioned.

_I know, baby.  I won’t._

            Elsa trusted his word, though she still kept a weather eye on his emotions.  Third floor, apartment B, and the slimy mind was right there.  She went to the door, rapped lightly.  Heard a thump, then a muffled groan.  And then Hernan opened the door with a Shades smile. 

             Hernan trussed the PI quickly, binding him hands and feet, and then put him into a very similar bag to the one she was in when he kidnapped Elsa.  Then, they took him into the shadows, where Hernan left him.  He and Elsa went through to her kitchen, where Elsa tapped her wrist.        

            “Set a timer, love.  We are going to take him out of the bag and call the police at some point soon.”

            “I want him to suffer,” Hernan said softly.  “The way he made you suffer.”

            “I do, too,” Elsa said, walking to him, cupping his cheek with her palm.  “But not as long.  We are better than that.  Let him wake, and scream, and learn no one can hear him.  And then we’ll call the police and let them handle him.”

            Hernan disagreed.  He wanted the fucker broken.  But he would defer to Elsa, because she was the victim.  He set the timer, reluctantly. 

            When his timer went off, they went into the shadows together.  The bag was whimpering and smelled bad.  Hernan dragged the PI out of the bag, making the other man scream and struggle.  With an amused, dark chuckle, Hernan deposited him on the front stoop.  Then he vanished.  Elsa opened the door and faux gasped.  Then she called 911.

            The cops asked a lot of questions.  And Elsa insisted she and Hernan had been home all evening.  Both had left their Harlem clothing in the shadowland.  Both swore they hadn’t heard anyone.  The FBI arrived, having been tipped off by Elsa, and that was the end of the hard questions. 

            Elsa wondered how long it would take for Misty to come around and threaten her again.  But, knowing that Ferguson was going to be going to prison made a lot of things better.  Elsa curled in Hernan’s arms and slept peacefully that night.


	17. Good news

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa chats with Mae, then gets news from Hernan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: explicit M/F sex

          The next few days went back to ‘normal.’  Elsa met up with Mae to have a girl’s night and filled her in on Misty’s fuckery.  Mae returned the favor by letting Elsa know that Claire had been rebuffed by Luke, and no one really knew what was up with that.  Then they had the conversation that ended up replaying in Elsa’s head a thousand times.  Mae was halfway trying to have kids with Frank.

          Elsa just… couldn’t believe how happy Mae was.  How relaxed she was.  How different she was from the broken girl that had believed Nate (that snake!) was right.  It made her so happy, and a bit wistful.  And furiously angry at Nate all over again.  Fortunately, Mae was talking to Frank.  And Elsa had hope that he’d continue the healing.  They were good together. 

          Of course, on a personal level Elsa couldn’t believe she hadn’t considered the possibility of pregnancy.  She hadn’t been careful; she’d had so many miscarriages she didn’t think she could get pregnant and keep it.  Add in that her periods had always been irregular and impossible to predict.  Still.  It wasn’t like her to be so casual with things.  She was trying to parse that, figure out the root of it, and worrying that she was moving too fast or something. 

          Hernan had thrown her off her game from the very first day they’d been together. 

          Adding to Elsa’s discomfort was the fact that her bond with Hernan was only getting stronger.  It was becoming actively difficult to hide her emotions from him, so she worried he was going to feel her unease and worry.  Fortunately, he was working with Fisk’s people on the business side of things.  He’d be out of the shadows doing meetings and figuring out which type of corporation they needed and all that fun minutiae.  So, she worked, trying to push the worries out of her mind…and not count how long it’d been since her last period.

          The worries were bad enough that she went out at lunch and got a pregnancy test.  It came back negative, and the disappointment she felt was a whole other level of ‘wtf.’  She pushed it aside, resolving that she’d try to have a conversation with him about it at some point. 

          Of course, the best laid plans rarely survive the first encounter.  Elsa worked late, and Hernan came to the office to get her utterly delighted with how his day had gone.  To the point where he dragged her off to a fancy restaurant, and by the time they got home, they were both tipsy and giggly. 

          Elsa dropped her keys twice thanks to the wine they drank.  Hernan laughed the second time, and once she had them in her hand, he swept them both into the shadows and then from the shadows into their dark bedroom.  Once there, he kissed her like she was his air.  His hands slid along her body, slowly caressing.  He pulled her button-down shirt out of her skit and ran his hands over her skin.  His hands felt cool to her and made her crave his bare skin against hers to cool her blazing heat.

          “Hernan, cariño, yes,” Elsa whispered as he kissed her jaw, her neck, and began unbuttoning her shirt.  She reached for his, and he captured her hands, pressing them to his chest. 

          “Let me, querida.  Let me love you.”

          Elsa could not have said no, not to that husky plea.  She nodded, and he slowly undressed her, kissing her bare skin, running his fingertips down her arm, then kissing her palm, her forearm, and up to her shoulder.  Hernan peeled her bra off, and then licked and suckled her nipples.  She moaned and caressed the back of his neck, arching against his mouth.  He knelt, and slid her skirt and panties off, placing light kisses against her feet and legs, before standing up again.  Elsa started to reach for his clothes, again, but he tsked at her and then stopped her protest by kissing her. 

          Once he’d kissed her breathless, Hernan lifted her by her thighs, setting her gently on the bed, before plundering her mouth again.  Elsa moaned against his mouth, the small taste of his hard cock against her making her needy.  She tried to squirm closer, but he pushed her back onto the bed.  He leaned over her then grinned, and that crooked smile made her heart constrict.  Their bond was open, and Hernan felt the sudden rush of feeling.   

          “Te amo, querida,” Hernan whispered, kissing her ribcage, then stomach, and working down to bury his face in her pussy.  He loved eating her out, and Elsa could feel his sensations and her own.  She moaned and surrendered to his tongue and long, slender fingers.  Within moments, he had her shuddering in climactic pleasure, but he wasn’t done.  He kept going until she was screaming in mindless pleasure.  Only then did he strip, taking his clothes off slowly, while she recovered. 

          Hernan knew Elsa loved looking at him, so he peeled off his clothes slowly.  Elsa made a purring sound of approval, and then he was climbing slowly atop her, trailing kisses up to her lips.  She kissed him back and wrapped her legs around his hips as he slowly slid inside her.  He stayed still for a moment, just enjoying the sensations.  Elsa could not help but squirm beneath him, the aftershocks still hitting her. 

          He knew how needy she was feeling, and he reveled in the fact that she didn’t mind sharing it with him.  He started fucking her slowly, writhing his hips against hers, making her whimper and dig her fingers into his back.  She was thinking ‘please,’ though she couldn’t say it aloud.  Hernan gritted his teeth against the sensations and focused on pushing her to greater heights of pleasure. 

          Elsa was meeting his thrusts, clinging to his shoulders, until that last thrust finally pushed her over the edge.  She came so powerfully she saw starbursts.  Hernan let himself go at that, thrusting hard and fast until he came as well.  He collapsed atop her, his head next to her shoulder. 

          She wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling.  Her voice was husky and deep when she spoke.  “I love you, Hernan.”

          “Te amo, querida,” he replied, pushing himself up.  He smiled down at her and kissed her gently before falling to the bed on his back.

          “I can’t move,” Elsa murmured, feeling entirely too blissed out.

          “Then I have done my job,” Hernan replied smugly.  Elsa giggled and managed to curl around him.  He wrapped his arms around her, and they snuggled for a quiet moment.  “Oh, shit, I totally forgot.  There’s a letter for you.  I was so giddy about the legit thing—”

          “You never did explain that,” Elsa said.

          “You could have just poked around,” Hernan said, sliding off the bed to search for his suitcoat. 

          “I suppose I could have,” she said, “but at the moment?  That requires energy I don’t have.”

          Hernan laughed, and paused in his search to beam at her.  “Fisk has informed his people the house business will be completely legitimate.  No strings.  Not one whiff of impropriety.”

          Elsa blinked a few times.  “Really?”  She finally understood Hernan’s excitement.  He was free and clear, and yet could still use his smarts for a man who had earned his loyalty. 

          “Really.”  He offered her a thick envelope, made of heavy, rich paper. 

          Elsa pushed herself up, took the envelope, and tore it open. 

            _Dearest Elsa,_

_Wilson has told me of your kindnesses.  We have discussed it and could not bear to allow any impropriety to touch you.  I begged him to find a way to work with you and avoid that, and he promised me he has.  Thank you for looking out for my love while I cannot.  I will repay you someday, this I promise you._

_In friendship and love,_

_Vanessa_

          Elsa smiled, and held the letter out to Hernan.  He read it and shook his head with a wry smile. 

          “You could rule the world, I swear,” he said fondly.

          “I would rather rule with love than fear,” Elsa replied.

          “That’s what makes you dangerous, querida.”

          Elsa shook her head, and he could feel her disbelief through their bond.  But she could feel his surety, and it gave her pause.  She stood and grabbed the robe he’d bought her, a short silky number with yellow chrysanthemums on a purple background.  She headed downstairs with a purpose.  Hernan frowned slightly, then caught the edge of what she was doing.  He pulled on jeans and followed her.

          He stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching her get a metal pan and light the letter on fire.  Elsa was protecting Vanessa; she’d burned every letter the woman had sent her, even the ones that didn’t reference Fisk.  Hernan thought about her loyalty, her love, and her integrity, and how even a man like Fisk respected it enough to work to preserve it. 

          He couldn’t believe she loved him. 

          Elsa caught the edge of that thought and turned from the burning letter in its metal pan to look into his eyes.  He felt her sending love to him and had to close his eyes against the emotion.  Elsa touched him, caressing his bare chest over his heart.  He lifted his hand to cover hers. 

          Elsa slid her other hand up to caress his neck, then gently pull his head down to hers.  She kissed him, and he kissed her back with love and joy.  Then he pressed his forehead against hers, fingers lightly playing over her hand that still rested on his heart.  “You know,” Hernan murmured.  “I’m keeping you.  Forever.”

          Elsa laughed.  “I’m counting on it.”

          “Good.”


	18. A warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hernan gets news and goes to warn Fisk

The days settled into normalcy.  Hernan got up, went to work, scouted various houses, bought property, hired subcontractors, and generally got the hang of his job.  Every week, he met with Mae to learn how to ice skate when they had free time. 

Elsa, he was informed dryly by Mae, already knows how to skate, though she did the whole girly ice skating with jumps and stuff, not Mae’s hardcore hockey.  Hernan got the impression Mae didn’t think much of that, though the way Mae talked about Elsa it was sometimes hard to parse.  They really were like sisters, bickering with each other and yet…don’t mess with either, because they would present a united front against any ‘outsider.’ 

Frank came with them to the rink from time to time, to practice and to shoot the shit.  Hernan found himself starting to count Frank as a friend.  And then Frank came to him with a bit of information he thought Hernan could use. 

They’d met on a Wednesday afternoon, since Mae got out of work early and Hernan didn’t need to be at either of the sites he was supervising since both had contractors with good work ethics.  They did the skating thing, and then Mae went off to talk to her hockey teammates.  Frank grabbed Hernan’s arm when he started heading to the bench.

“Hang up a second,” Frank said quietly.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I got word that there’s some trouble brewing for a friend of yours.  I don’t like him much, but…” 

“My Rikers friend?” Hernan asked, being careful since Frank seemed to be using an excess of caution.

“Yes.  Word has it they’re trying to overthrow him.”  Frank handed him a picture.  “This is the ringleader.  He’s newly in Rikers and bigtime trouble.” 

Hernan glanced at the picture and was somehow unsurprised that it was one of the surviving Dominicans, a guy who had been trying to maneuver to fill the gaps left by Mariah and Bushmaster’s downfall.  “They finally caught him, eh?”

“Yeah, I guess.  He thinks he can knock off the big man and take over.”

“He’s wrong,” Hernan said, but he decided right then and there—he was with Fisk.  “But thanks, I’ll make sure the big man gets a warning.”  _At least,_ he thought, and then on the heels of it, he decided to pay a visit to Fisk.  It was a bit late for it, but he knew he could get in. 

He found Mae, offered her a Frank a ‘ride’ home, and was a tiny bit disappointed when they turned him down.  Again offering his help to both of them with anything, he headed out to Rikers.  The island did not have many shadows, but he managed to find one while avoiding the ever-present cameras. 

He checked in and was unsurprised to find he was on the approved list.  Fisk was efficient.  Hernan was escorted to a sunny, open area with picnic benches.  He was surprised but sat down to wait.  He glanced around, thinking that he’d never been brought here while he was in, and finding it a nice change.

Fisk came out shortly, unshackled and moving in his deliberate way.  Hernan could feel his Shades mask sliding down, even though he knew he didn’t need to be that way with Fisk.  Old habits die hard.

“Mr. Alvarez.”

“Mr. Fisk, thank you for seeing me.  And please, call me Hernan.” 

“It is a pleasure, Hernan,” Fisk said.  “You may call me Wilson.”  A beat, just long enough for Hernan to start thinking about how he should say what he’d come to say, and then Wilson continued.  “Is this a business report?”

“Somewhat,” Hernan said.  “I am pleased to report that we’ve already acquired multiple properties and we’re working on improving them now.  But I also heard some news I wanted to deliver in person.  Are we kosher?”

Fisk understood, and nodded.  “Of course.  I would not have my business information heard by many.”

“You’ve seen that Roberto Martinez has been moved here?”

“Yes.  He was trying to take over for Arturo Rey, but he got sloppy.”

“And now he’s gunning for you.”

“Really?”  Fisk looked intrigued, the first emotion Hernan had ever seen him display.  “Well, isn’t that interesting.”

“Word on the street is that he has support.”

“Oh, really.  Any names?”

“My source didn’t investigate.  Would you like me to look into it for you?”

“I appreciate the offer, Hernan, but I would rather you take care of your lovely lady.  I shall put my people on it.”  Fisk had a look Hernan recognized.  He was definitely on the hunt. 

“Your wish is my command,” Hernan said.  But he also resolved to keep his ear to the ground.  He wasn’t going to let anything happen to Fisk.


	19. Elsa supports Hernan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hernan checks in with Elsa about Fisk.

Hernan talked to a few of his contacts, including a guard who owed him a favor.  They all promised to keep an ear to the ground for him, and a couple even followed through.  When the guard didn’t report back, he waited a few days.  Then he picked an evening where Elsa was supposed to go hang with Mae and he went to Rikers.  He hid in the shadows and listened, hoping to learn what was going on. 

He quickly learned that Fisk was still being protected, but Martinez was gaining traction thanks to his outside connections.  Hernan debated taking action then and there, but something held him back.  He wasn’t getting a good read on the entire situation, and something about it felt off.  He’d long since learned to trust his gut.  He hid around various cells, hunting through the shadows for confirmation or denial.  He overheard a lot of planning, a lot of ideas, and very little concrete.  And then he felt Elsa, looking for him.  He quickly slid back to her, finding her in the bedroom.

“Elsa,” Hernan crossed to her, feeling her worry.  “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.  Frank came home and Mae needed to help him.”  Elsa hugged him.  “I was just startled that you weren’t here.”

Hernan held her close, breathing in her scent.  “I went to check on our friend.  I’m worried.”

Elsa pulled back, looking into his eyes, asking quiet permission to look deeper.  Hernan smiled and welcomed her.  She saw what he’d been doing, what he’d seen, and what he’d thought.  She frowned.  “He’s in danger.”

“Potentially,” Hernan agreed.

“Do you need to take care of it?” 

Hernan was startled for a moment, but he reached out into the bond they shared and felt her resolute belief that he should if he felt it necessary.  He felt her conflict, her worry about getting too comfortable with permanent solutions, but also her worry for Fisk, and her need for him to be reunited with Vanessa someday.  Fisk was not a good man, but he was honorable and she valued that.  Hernan shook his head in the negative, to respond to her silent question.  “I spoke with Fisk earlier.”

Elsa digested that fact, then read the conversation from his point of view.  “So, you think it’s safe to wait?”

Hernan chuckled wryly.  “Being rash has cost me a lot.  Fisk… he’s warned.  I’d like to keep an eye on the situation, but yeah.  I’ll wait.”  He stepped closer to her, took her in his arms.  “Thank you for trusting me,” he murmured, and then kissed her. 

Elsa smiled.  “I know you are wiser about these things than I am,” she replied.  “But if you think the situation warrants it, don’t hesitate because of me, ok?”

“I won’t,” Hernan assured her. 


	20. Another confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misty and Elsa argue again.

The trial and arraignment of Geoff Ferguson was a quiet thing.  He ended up taking a plea deal that sent him away for a long time, and that was that.  Elsa had kept an ear to the ground, particularly when she learned that Misty had interviewed the perp.  She wondered if Misty had added her to the ‘keep an eye on’ list.  Elsa felt it was inevitable, and it was really pissing her off.

So, it was no surprise when Misty showed up at her office again.  Elsa was starting to think she should take Jeri’s advice and work from home.  She sat up straighter at her desk, laced her fingers together, and stared across the way at Misty.  “Detective.”

“Geoff Ferguson had a lot of interesting things to say about you,” Misty said.

“He invaded my privacy and kidnapped me, but you find the things he had to say ‘interesting.’  Good to know where you stand, Misty.”

Misty crossed the room and sat down, staring at Elsa.  “He says you’re enhanced.  ‘Like Kilgrave’ were his exact words.”

“Oh, for the love of… Do you really think, if I were like that evil bastard, you’d still be so hell-bent on persecuting me and Hernan?”  Elsa enjoyed the flash of unease that crossed Misty’s face for a moment, then felt a stab of guilt.  “Please.  If I had Kilgrave’s power, I’d definitely fix that problem.”

“You’re admitting you’d abuse your power.  On an officer of the law.”

“You’re a pain in my ass, Misty.  Especially with Hernan trying to go legit and you harassing him all the time.”  Misty looked startled.  “Oh yeah, he told me about your stupid trick with the building inspector.”  Elsa huffed.  “It’s not a good look, you know.”

“So you’re not enhanced.”

Elsa couldn’t resist.  “Well, Hernan keeps telling me—”

Misty groaned.  “Oh, please.  You know what I’m asking.”

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure I answered you.”  Elsa didn’t know why she was trying so hard not to lie to Misty, but…there it was.  She hated lying and hated lying to friends even more.  But was Misty still a friend?  And how the fuck had Ferguson learned about her powers?  That was vexing.  She needed to talk to Hernan, to Mae…

“I’m pretty sure you didn’t,” Misty said. 

“Where is Ferguson now?  I thought he was sentenced.  I am finding it really, really difficult to consider you a friend right now, Misty.  You’d believe a convict over me?”

“Well, yeah.  Because you still haven’t said ‘I am not enhanced.’  I want to know why not?”

Elsa stood up, leaned forward on her desk, and stared into Misty’s eyes.  “Because who defines ‘enhanced?’  Look at you, Misty.  You’ve always gotten feelings about crime.  You’re one of the best in the entire city because you listen to your gut.”  Elsa tilted her head, enjoying the uneasy expression on Misty’s face, the sudden worry and wondering behind her not-quite-impassive face.  “Is that an enhancement?  If so, I have the same thing.  It’s why I’m the best at my job, because I always know which juror is going to be tough, which one’s going to be soft.  But Kilgrave?  Way out of my league.  So, give me a better definition, and I’ll give you a yes or no.  For now?  I’m telling you the truth, I’m not like him.  In any way.”

“Huh.”  Misty stood up.  “For once, I think you did tell me the truth.  It’s a nice change.”

Elsa narrowed her eyes.  “Oh, fuck you, Misty.  I have never lied to you.”

“No, you just picked a murderer over everything else in your life.”

“Bullshit.  I picked my life over blind justice, and you can’t handle that, can you?”

“Oh, don’t give me that.  You chose to side with a killer.”

Elsa hid a smile and straightened.  She was going all in.  Fuck this.  “Are you going to harass our kids, too, if we have them?  Are you going to go tell Mae not to be with Frank, because he’s a killer?  How about Karen, going to tell her to abandon Frank, one of the best friends she’s ever had?”

“That’s different,” Misty spluttered.

“Is it?  Really?  Huh, Misty, never would’ve figured you for a racist.”

“What!”

“Hernan Alvarez versus Frank Castle.  Same crimes, but one of them you keep going after, and the other you’re gonna tell me is ‘different?’  Sounds like a race thing to me.”

“Frank wasn’t—That’s bullshit.”

“Is it?”

Misty was silent, then Elsa could feel her gathering herself as she glared.  “I am not going to put up with this.  I’m going to keep an eye on you.  Be careful who you talk to.  I heard who your real partner is in that house flipping thing, and I’m not going to forget it.”

Elsa hadn’t thought about Fisk until that moment, and the realization that Ferguson would tell him the same tale sent a stab of fear through her.  Fortunately, Misty was walking away and Elsa didn’t have to maintain her mask.  She sat down, a bit heavily, and thought about what she would need to do first. 

Misty stopped at the door.  She didn’t quite turn all the way around.  Elsa was trying to stay out of her head, but she could still feel the resignation and sudden sadness in Misty’s heart.  It was the same sadness she’d been feeling for a while.  “Elsa.  I thought you were one of the good guys.”

“I wish you would believe me when I tell you I am,” Elsa said.  “But I know what you’ll say to that.  And yeah, we’re all the heroes of our own stories.  But some of us try to do good more than others.  Ask Mae sometime, if you don’t believe me.”

Misty snorted, but the sadness was replaced with resolve.  “Yeah.  Maybe I will.”

Elsa was left to sit in her office and try not to panic.  Fisk did not like enhanced people.  How had Ferguson found out?  Elsa reached for her phone, trying to think who to call first.  She decided she needed to know where Ferguson was first, so she called her contact at the jail.

Ferguson was officially at Rikers, now.  He’d arrived two days ago.  Elsa felt her stomach sink, and she texted Hernan next.  This was bad.  Very, very bad.


	21. Bugs and worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa tells Hernan about things, and they find a lot of bugs at the office.

Hernan finished work feeling smug.  The first house was assessed at an even higher value than they’d projected, and he was optimistic that things would work out well.  He pulled out his phone and saw multiple texts from Elsa and felt bad.  He’d forgotten he had put his phone on silent when the appraiser was doing the walkthrough.  He opened his messages and frowned.  Elsa wasn’t usually terse.  But her messages started short, until her last message was literally “Shadows, ASAP” and… He glanced around, made sure he was alone, and then vanished into the darkness, seeking his woman.

 _Oh, thank god, Hernan!_ Elsa’s emotions hit him like a sledgehammer.  Her fear galvanized him, and he made the trip to her office to be at her side like a lightning bolt.  He slid out of the shadows and rushed to her side. 

“Elsa?  What happened?”

“Geoff Ferguson told Misty I am like Kilgrave.  Remember when you accused me of that?  What made you ask?”

“It was the combination of things.  You always knew when I was around, the stuff over in the desert, and…”  Hernan looked away, and Elsa felt his shame.  “You were such a comfort to me,” he said softly.  “I said that because I was so desperate to push you away…”  He lifted his head, looking into her eyes.  “And then you called me on it,” he said with a smile.  “Thank goodness.”

Elsa smiled back and pulled him closer by his tie, kissing him.  “I’m glad I did.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t help.  What could Ferguson have possibly heard?”

“Think back.  When did you notice him?”

“I never really did.  I mean, we found the bugs, but he couldn’t have heard inside the house.”

“What about here?”

Elsa frowned.  “I know Jeri swept a lot there for a while, because of Chao and Benowitz.  But… maybe she stopped, and I didn’t realize it?”  She paced in front of the windows behind her desk, rubbing her forehead.  “Can you pop home and grab the wand?”

“Of course.”  Hernan walked around the desk and took her in his arms.  “But first,” he said, and kissed her thoroughly.  As he’d hoped, it brightened her mood just enough.  He knew she was worried and upset at the thought that Fisk might hate her for being enhanced.  But he was hoping that he could simply make the business so successful that Fisk wouldn’t care. 

Hernan released Elsa, and then walked to the shadows and slipped into them.  He headed home, found the bug detector that Frank had given them, and returned.  Elsa was still pacing, and her emotions were even more scattered.  Hernan walked closer to her and caressed her cheek.  “Baby, it’ll be okay.”

“I’m sorry.  I just… What if it’s not?  What if Fisk feels betrayed?”

“Baby.  Fisk is a smart man.  He’ll listen to us, if it comes to that.”

“Going to him was a mistake,” Elsa said with a sigh.  “I didn’t think about his hatred for enhanced people, and—”

“Stop,” Hernan said, cupping her chin and making her look at him.  “You’re borrowing trouble.  Let’s find out if there are bugs here and go from there.  At the least, he won’t have proof in prison.”

Elsa nodded, took a deep breath, and gestured at the office.  “Feel free to check it.”

Hernan turned on the wand and started searching.  After the fourth bug, he was pissed.  When they found seven in all, he needed to have words with Jeri.  “How could she be so careless?”

“I don’t know,” Elsa whispered.  “What if these aren’t all from Ferguson?  How many people might know about us?”

That was enough to make Hernan pause.  He pulled out his phone and shot a text to Frank, asking if there was a way to tell where the bugs they found were transmitting.  Hernan wasn’t surprised when Frank called immediately. 

“H-man, did you destroy the bugs?  If you did, there’s no way.”

“Yeah, we destroyed them.  There were too many not to,” Hernan said, not disguising his anger at the invasion.

“How many?”

“Seven, just in Elsa’s office.”

“Shit, who the fuck…”

“We know at least one of them was from Ferguson.  Elsa thought Jeri was doing sweeps, but she wasn’t.” 

Elsa touched his arm, and he felt her intent to go inform Jeri of what was going on.  He nodded.  Frank was dangerously silent, then...  “Seven.  Possibly seven different people who heard things you don’t want getting out.”

“Yeah,” Hernan said, pacing over to the window and staring out at the city.  “And one of those people is in jail with Fisk.”

Frank whistled low.  “Brother, you are fucked.”

Hernan agreed, but he also thought he had a plan.  “If they’re active, you can trace them, right?”  Skeptical, Frank agreed.  “Alright, help me out.  If they replace the bugs, I want to find them.”

“I knew I liked you,” Frank replied.  “I’ll get you the stuff next week, asap.  Monday if I can manage it.”

“Perfect.” 

 

Elsa stalked to Jeri’s office, radiating such fury that Jeri’s new assistant didn’t even try to stop her.  Elsa was just barely able to restrain herself from ripping the phone out of Jeri’s hand when she found the other woman talking on it.  She sat and stared at Jeri until the other woman finally got off the phone.  Jeri was nonplussed.  Elsa needed to change that.

“Did you stop sweeping for bugs everywhere, or just my office?” Elsa demanded.

“What are you talking about?  I have still been sweeping once a week.  Chao seems to think she’s going to find something, and I’m not going to give it to her.”

Elsa was slightly mollified, but she needed Jeri to realize what was going on.  “So, the seven bugs I just found in my office are an outlier?  You should check, Jeri.  I think someone’s been fucking with you.  In fact,” Elsa texted Hernan to bring the wand to Jeri’s office.  “Let’s see what’s up.”

Hernan strolled in a moment later and proceeded to find four bugs in Jeri’s office.  Jeri was apoplectic.  “I will nail her to the wall,” she growled.  “I will call the police…”

“Next week,” Hernan said quietly.  “I can help you find out who the bugs belong to.”  He smiled a Shades smile.  “For a price.”

“You’re hired,” Jeri replied. 

“Brilliant.  I’ll be back Wednesday, and we’ll find out who’s been listening.”

Elsa walked out next to Hernan, gathering the information behind his smug exterior.  “That still doesn’t help with Fisk,” she murmured softly.

“We’ll deal with that when we can,” he replied.  “One disaster at a time.”

 Elsa sighed, but agreed with his intent.  She just worried that reality would not allow them the time to handle one thing at a time. 


	22. A meeting with an old friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa goes to visit Vanessa for help with Fisk.

Fisk was uncertain that he believed Ferguson.  But the man admitted he had kidnapped Elsa.  He just claimed it was because she had powers, and the lawyer that paid him wanted to use them.  Fisk weighed the word of a kidnapper versus the loyalty and friendship of a woman who had always been polite and respectful, and found himself leaning towards the woman, powered or not.

He wrote a long letter to Vanessa, sharing his heart with her as he so often did.  He hoped she could help him clarify what to do.  For now, he wielded his power and sent Ferguson to solitary to punish him for hurting Elsa.  He would learn the truth, and then he would decide what actions needed to be taken.

 

Elsa also reached out to Vanessa, though she did so via text a few days later.  She asked Hernan to take her to Paris, where Vanessa was working for the time being.  And so, she sent a text to Vanessa asking if she could visit, rather than surprise the other woman by showing up on her doorstep.  Vanessa was only too happy to see her friend.  They met at a café, and Vanessa hugged Elsa warmly.  Elsa was reassured slightly; Vanessa did not have any wariness or worry about her, just affection.  Perhaps Vanessa would help her after all.

“I have had the oddest letter from Wilson, and I am glad you are here to discuss it,” Vanessa said, after the greetings.  “He was concerned about the inmate who kidnapped you, and the stories he’s telling.”

 “That I have powers like Kilgrave?”  Elsa sighed.  “I’m getting tired of hearing that.  Misty accused me of similar.”

“Misty?  That police officer harassing you?”

“Yes.”

Vanessa looked at her, a long assessing look, and Elsa found herself having difficulty meeting the other woman’s eyes.  Vanessa finally reached across the table, gathering Elsa’s hands in hers.  “You have been one of my most loyal friends.  I don’t care if you have powers or not.  I hope you know that.”

Elsa squeezed Vanessa’s hands.  “Thank you, Vanessa.  I have always been an odd child, but I don’t think I’m anything like that Kilgrave.  He was evil, from what I have heard.  I just… know people.  I’ve always had a sense of people, and I think that’s why I’m good at my job.”

Vanessa nodded.  “I can’t see you manipulating anyone.”  She chuckled.  “Not even the way that Wilson manipulates me.”

Elsa chuckled.  “I can’t see him succeeding much.”

Vanessa laughed, too, and the two women ordered coffee and chatted companionably for a time.  Elsa caught her up on things that she couldn’t put into letters or emails.  Vanessa returned the favor, even giving Elsa a few messages for Fisk.

“I don’t know if he’ll see me, though, Vanessa.”

“Of course, he will,” she replied.  “I am going to tell him that it doesn’t matter.”

“I don’t know if he’ll be comfortable with that.”

 “Darling,” Vanessa chuckled.  “He will see I’m right.  Even if it takes time.  Just… remember what I’ve told you.  So you can tell him, when he sees you again.”

“For you,” Elsa agreed, making Vanessa smile with joy. 

And then, as planned, Hernan came to get Elsa once he’d eaten and recovered from the distance he’d had to navigate in the shadows.  Elsa introduced him with delight, unable to hide her fondness for her love.  To their surprise, Vanessa asked him to join them.  

“I understand that you’re succeeding for me, with your properties and the like.”

“I am doing my best,” Hernan said.  Elsa could feel his wariness and she reached out, resting her hand on his arm.  He smiled at her and covered her hand with his, then turned back to Vanessa.  “I hope that the successes continue.  I think we’ve got a good start.”

“I am grateful for your work.  When Wilson first told me of it, I thought it was just a lie.  But you have actually done it!  And succeeded beyond my expectations.”  Vanessa smiled. 

“I couldn’t just take your money and not do the best job for you,” Hernan said.  Elsa could feel that he was offended by the idea, but his voice was kind.  “You are one of Elsa’s dearest friends.  I would be a terrible person if I didn’t respect that.”

Vanessa smiled, and again Elsa could feel and see her joy.  “No wonder Wilson likes you.”

“Fisk mentioned me to you?”  Hernan was startled, and Elsa ducked her head to hide a smile. 

“Oh yes.  He’s quite impressed with your resourcefulness.  I’m glad you are on our side.” 

“Of course, Vanessa,” Hernan said.  “I just hope that we can get you home soon.”

Elsa agreed.  “I know Wilson misses you.”

Vanessa nodded.  “Thank you.” 

They talked a bit more, then Elsa took a picture of Vanessa to show Fisk, at Hernan’s suggestion.  Then Vanessa insisted on photos with Elsa, which Hernan was happy to take.  Finally, Vanessa excused herself, saying she needed to get home.  Elsa hugged her, then sat with Hernan for a bit, finishing their coffee. 

“We should get something to eat, then head home.” Hernan said quietly.

“You want to eat here?  I don’t have any euros.”

Hernan chuckled.  “I do.”

Elsa looked at him skeptically, and he laughed.  She could feel his amusement, and somehow it reassured her.  “Do I want to know?”

Hernan leaned closer and took her hand, and his amusement bubbled over.  “I didn’t do anything illegal, love.  I just found a bank that was willing to exchange my money.”

Elsa smiled and kissed him.  “Then let’s go try some food.”

They found a restaurant, and somehow Hernan was unsurprised to find that Elsa spoke enough French to understand and speak with the waiter in French.  He was also unsurprised when the waiter spoke flawless English after he spoke up asking Elsa for a clarification on the menu. 

Hernan caught Elsa’s amusement, and looked at her curiously.  She took his hand, and then he heard her amusement, with the thought behind it that the waiter thought they were Canadian, because Elsa’s French was too good for the Americans he’d met. 

Hernan chuckled.  “Are you going to bust his bubble?”

“No,” Elsa said.  “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” 

Hernan knew.  He waited until the waiter was nearby, and then spoke up.  “Are you ready to get home?”

Elsa sighed, but her eyes were twinkling and the feeling he got from her was amusement at his determination.  “I suppose.  I do miss sleeping in our bed.” 

Hernan did not miss the emphasis on sleeping, or the lusty thoughts beneath it.  He grinned and took her hand, kissing the knuckles with a little more lip and tongue than was necessary.  “We’ll be home soon.  I can’t wait to get real New York bagels again.  The bread here is delicious, but nothing beats a good bagel.”

Elsa peeked at the waiter, who was frowning and trying very hard not to look over at them.  She covered her mouth to hide a giggle and then managed a reply.  “As long as you’re not missing that saucey cardboard you call pizza.”

“Hey, Chicago girl, New York pizza is the best.”

“Ugh.  No.  There isn’t enough cheese in the world to make that flat thing into a real pizza.” 

Hernan shook his head and muttered about what a heathen she was, and Elsa giggled at his mock-outrage.  They rose to leave, and Elsa reminded Hernan he didn’t need to leave a tip.  The waiter spotted them leaving and wished them a good day.  Elsa replied in her passable French, and then they headed off. 

They strolled along the road, hand in hand, and then Hernan pulled her into an alleyway for a passionate kiss.  Elsa kissed him back, half-wishing they could stay in France for touristy things.  But, both of them had work to do, so she scanned the area for any observers, and once she reassured Hernan that no one could see them he pulled them into the shadows to head home.


	23. Checks and balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa gets a reassurance from Fisk, and Hernan sets things up for later.

Hernan met Frank, who was only too happy to show off the shiny toys that Hernan needed to find out where the information was being sent from the bugs.  Hernan tried them a few times, verified that he was getting things right, and then they talked about the process for finding the location.  Hernan was a bit grumpy at the complexities, but he needed to know.  Frank gave him a computer program to run that would locate the offending parties based on where the information was being sent, and he was set.

Hernan headed to Elsa’s work, to talk with Jeri and find out who was spying on them.  It would take time, but he was patient.  They’d know, and then they’d be able to protect themselves—or take care of the problem.  Plus, he was getting paid for it.  The least he could do was help Jeri out while finding out who might be getting too much info.  The information gathering was easy.  He plugged it into the program and then it was just the waiting. 

 

After a few days, Elsa reached out to Fisk to see if he would see her.  She specifically wrote in her note that she had news from Vanessa.  He responded quickly, with his usual ‘you are always welcome,’ and she was somewhat reassured.  She went on a Wednesday, knowing Hernan would be busy with his weekly hangout with Mae and Frank.  She didn’t know what he did, and he wouldn’t talk about it, but she trusted she’d find out eventually.  Enough that she worked very hard to stay out of his mind on Wednesdays, trying to avoid catching a stray thought about it.

 Elsa knew she was spoiled by travelling with Hernan when she started getting annoyed at the time it took to get out to Rikers.  She worked on some paperwork she’d been putting off, read some work journals, and generally tried to pass the time and ignore the nerves caused by just being on the subway.  She hadn’t forgotten the attack, though the knives hidden in her boot and on her wrists thanks to Frank’s concealed sheaths helped. 

Elsa finally arrived at her destination, and as usual was passed into the sunny park-like visiting area.  She wasn’t even searched, and this time it vaguely annoyed her since she had brought weapons.  She hoped Fisk was better protected.  Before she could complain, Fisk arrived and she was struck by how welcoming he was.  He extended his hands to her, allowing her to take them as he always did.  He kissed her on the cheek, and then sat down across from her with a smile. 

“Welcome, Elsa.”

“Wilson, it is so good to see you,” Elsa said with a smile.  While she could not consider him exactly a friend, he was definitely someone whose company she enjoyed.  He didn’t skimp on the formalities, and she rather missed that from her other friends sometimes.  They sat together and chatted idly, greeting and catching up a bit.  Then, finally, they reached a point where things could get a bit more serious.

“You said you had news from Vanessa,” Wilson said.  

“I do!”  Elsa said with a beaming smile.  “We visited, it was marvelous.”  Elsa pulled the photo she had printed out and offered it to Wilson.  He touched the photo almost reverently, then looked up at Elsa. 

“You have brought me this to keep?”

Elsa nodded.  “I have a few other photos, but I took that one for you.” 

“Let me see the others,” Wilson said.

Elsa unlocked her phone and found the other photos of Vanessa.  She did not think that Wilson would want her in the picture, but he smiled at one of the two of them and declared it his favorite.  Elsa blushed, and then promised to bring him a print out. 

“No, Elsa, though it is a kindness you are offering, I cannot accept.  This one is more than enough.”  Wilson patted her hand lightly, then leaned back on his side of the table.  “I dare not keep too many photos of her nearby.”

“I know how much you miss her.  She misses you, too.”

“When it is safe, we will be reunited.”

“But, Wilson, when will it be safe?”

Fisk smiled, though Elsa could tell it was forced.  Her question had stirred his emotions, and she regretted making him sad.  “I must know that my enemies are defeated.  That they will not act against her.  That the devils of Hell’s Kitchen will not threaten her because of me.”

Elsa had forgotten that he hated Matt, and the reminder startled her.  She nodded, agreeing with him, but suddenly feeling divided.  She did not want Matt getting hurt, either.  “I hope it is soon,” she murmured.

“Vanessa reminded me how good you have been to us, and a few other people reminded me of our Saint’s neutrality and love for you.” Fisk said softly.  “I have been a very great fool when it comes to some things, so I am very grateful for your support and your friends’ wisdom.  I regret that I doubted you for a moment, but I must admit I did when your kidnapper spoke against you.”

“You do not need to apologize to me, Wilson,” Elsa said.  “I understand.  And being so isolated, it is easy to doubt.”  She paused, and then smiled.  “I am glad that you are fond of Mae.  Does she visit?  I am sure her colorful outlook is a welcome change.”

Fisk laughed and didn’t answer directly.  “She is loyal to her friends, as few people are.  I am always happy to welcome her.”

Elsa agreed, and then risked a gentle pat on Wilson’s arm.  “You have been good to us and helped us when we needed it.  I know I will never forget, and I am certain Mae feels the same.”

“You are too kind,” Fisk replied.  “As you have always been.” 

“Next time, I will try to bring food again,” Elsa said with a smile.

“I look forward to it,” Wilson said, standing.  Elsa took his hands and kissed him on the cheek and then allowed the officers to escort him out, while she headed home.  She worried, again, about Matt.  Would this cause him to question her?  She thought she’d talk to Mae about it.  As Fisk had reminded her just now, Mae had always been neutral in this war, maintaining a pretty good friendship with Matt but also keeping Fisk’s respect.  Perhaps she could manage a similar feat.

Elsa headed to the subway, feeling better at having a plan.


	24. A different perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hernan goes to see Tilda.

While Elsa traveled to see Fisk, Hernan enjoyed his usual weekly skating lesson with Mae.  Frank was there for a time, but he left early.  Hernan found himself watching Mae and Frank before the other man left, watching how they interacted.  It reminded him yet again of something that was festering.  Elsa looked at him the way Mae looked at Frank.  But…  He turned away, stewing on old thoughts he couldn’t release.

Fortunately for him, Mae called the lesson shortly after that.  She told Hernan he was doing really well and making it clear that future ‘lessons’ were just for fun and practice.  He accepted that, planned to see her (and Frank) next week, because Frank wanted to learn to hit pucks and Hernan wanted to watch that.  He had a feeling it’d be really amusing.  Then he headed out. 

The thoughts kept swirling, and he decided today was a good day to just do it and get over it.  Or something.  He hoped.  It was a bad idea, but he couldn’t seem to shake it.  He decided that maybe indulging his whim would exorcize it. 

He went home, showered and changed, and put on a suit.  He didn’t think he’d ever feel entirely comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt, though he knew Elsa loved it.  Adding his favorite sunglasses, he slipped into a shadow and headed to a very familiar neighborhood.  He knew where he was going, and he made sure he arrived close by.  He kept to the shadows.  He didn’t need word getting back to Luke. 

Checking to make sure no one was around, he went from the alley to the doorway he was looking for.  Hernan climbed the stairs and then slipped into Mother’s Touch.  He paused inside the doorway to let his eyes adjust.  A cheery voice called “be with you in a moment.”  He recognized Tilda’s voice, and couldn’t help his chilly reaction.  He tried not to be angry, but… she was too close to things he didn’t want to examine and yet had to look at.

Hernan slid the sunglasses off his nose and turned to look at the shop.  The shelves were full of interesting things he couldn’t name, dried plants and small bottles that filled the air with scent when he touched them curiously.   

“What are you doing here?”

He turned to face her, smiling a bit at her anger.  “What, I can’t look around?”

“I heard tell if you’re seen around here, you’re dead,” Tilda said, lifting her chin.  He tried, again, to see Mariah in her, but couldn’t.  She was beautiful but cold.  Or perhaps it was just him, he thought, as her eyes flashed angrily at him. 

“They have to catch me first,” Hernan said softly.  “You going to call someone?”

“What do you want?”  Tilda folded her arms. 

_I don’t know,_ he thought, but… “I think I owe you a thank you,” he said.  “Your mother was trying to kill me.”

“She’s not—She wasn’t my mother.  Not really.  Not in the ways that counted.”  Tilda’s anger was old; the words were dry, habitual.  There was no bite in them.  Hernan stepped closer to her, considering his words. 

“She valued you.  Showed you off, bragged on you.  Sat you at her side,” he said.  “She loved you.”

“No.  She did that because she could use me.  She used everyone.  She never loved me.  Don’t be fooled; she didn’t love you, either.”  Tilda snapped.  “Hell, she never even told me your real name.  Just called you ‘Shades’ all the time.”

“My name’s Hernan,” he said softly.  It wasn’t a protest, but…  He was fairly sure Mariah had introduced him, but he couldn’t recall.  Perhaps not.  Did it matter?  Not now.  But he did have another question, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask it.  At least, not obviously.

“Well, Hernan, whatever you’re looking for, I don’t have answers for you,” Tilda moved around the counter, standing at the opening. 

He smiled.  “Don’t you?”

Tilda frowned at him.  “What game are you playing?”

“You killed her, didn’t you?”  He watched her face, careful.  No flinch, no reaction.  Cold.  She met his eyes, then shook her head.  It read more ‘exasperation’ than ‘no,’ he thought.  And then she glared, stalked past him, and opened the door. 

“Get out of my shop and stay out.”  Tilda didn’t even look at him, just waited. 

Hernan put his sunglasses back on, walked over to stand next to her.  “If you go up against Luke for the club, you’ll regret it.  That place is poison.”

Tilda turned her head, looking directly into his eyes despite the sunglasses.  Something in the action caught his attention, raised his hackles.  She smiled, and suddenly he saw Mariah in her.  “Poison is just the other side of my business, Hernan.  Mother’s touch,” she said softly.  He stood there for a moment, considering, absorbing what she’d just told him.  What it said about Mariah.  What Tilda admitted, whether she realized it or not.  Tilda waved at the open doorway.  “Goodbye, Hernan.”

He walked out the door, feeling shaken and yet…  This would be fun to watch.  He wondered if there’d be anything left standing when Tilda was done.


End file.
